Assam frittered away a good start to allow Vidarbha to nose ahead at the end of the third day’s play at the St.Xavier’s College ground here on Saturday.
>Scorecard
Mid-innings collapses had been a problem for Assam this season and against Vidarbha it slid from 66 for no loss to 88 for three.
Opener Pallavkumar Das, who looked assured during his stay at the crease, flicked straight to Fazal at midwicket off Ravikumar Thakur. Off-spinner Akshay Wakhare lured Rahul Hazarika to edge to slips and trapped Amit Verma in front with a ball that kept low.
Earlier, Sarupam Purkayastha, exploiting the spinner-friendly track, took five for 133 to prevent Vidarbha from posting a huge total. The innings eventually ended at 416.
Ganesh Satish completed his century in the morning but was trapped in front by Arup Das for 102. Ravi Jangid left soon after completing his fifty as he missed a cut while playing back to spinner Sarupam. However, Jithesh Sharma and Sarwate figured in a half-century stand for the sixth wicket. The duo mixed caution with aggression and Jithesh was more adventurous as he repeatedly stepped out to loft spinners over the infield. Jithesh’s run-out through a direct hit from Tarjinder ended the enterprising stand and Vidarbha lost the last five wickets for 56 runs.
'Good position'
Vidarbha coach Paras Mhambrey was happy with the position his team was in. Ruling out the prospects of an outright win, Mhambrey said he team was looking for three points by taking the first innings lead.
"We could have put a little more runs on the board. But we lost far too many wickets before lunch. We are in a good position. Honestly with so much time lost we will be happy with three points," he said.
Other matches (Group B):
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