Nagpur: An hour into the post-lunch session on Day 2, Akshay Wadkar’s marathon innings came to an unfortunate end. After batting for over three sessions, Wadkar missed out on a maiden double hundred by a whisker. Skipper Wadkar missed the personal milestone, but his 198-run knock guided Vidarbha to 428 and a position of dominance in the Ranji Trophy match at Jamtha Stadium on Monday.Post the Wadkar show, the Day 2 of the Elite Group ‘A’ saw Pondicherry overcome early jitters to post a strong reply. Harsh Dubey sent back Pondicherry opener and skipper Neyan Kangayan (10;20b;2×4) in the fifth over with just 14 on the scoreboard. Ritesh Gudge (59;122b;10×4) and Nikhil Gangta (32;105b;3×4) kept the Vidarbha bowlers at bay for the rest of the day as Pondicherry finished on 107 for 1 in 41 overs.The Pondicherry fightback has spiced up the contest, but the day belonged to Wadkar. The Vidarbha skipper, starting on overnight 112, waged a lone battle on Monday. Yash Rathod (134;180b;11×4;1×6) added just three runs to his overnight score before edging a Sagar Trivedi delivery to wicketkeeper Prasad Pawar.Harsh Dubey (3;32b) and Nachiket Bhute (6;11b;1×4) didn’t contribute much. Still, Vidarbha managed 82 runs in the 33 overs of the first session with Wadkar doing the bulk of the scoring. Wadkar scored 50 of the 73-run ninth-wicket partnership with Parth Rekhade (20;68b;2×4).Wadkar hardly showed signs of nervousness as he approached his maiden first-class double hundred. The right-hand batter moved from 178 to 198 in just eight balls, hitting three fours. Wadkar’s 363-ball stay at the wicket ended when Sagar Udeshi trapped him in front of the wickets.Udeshi’s four-wicket haul will certainly spur his left-arm spin counterparts in the Vidarbha camp. The hosts would bank on Harsh Dubey and Parth Rekhade to replicate Udeshi’s exploits as they look to push Puducherry further into the corner over the next two days.BRIEF SCORES:Vidarbha (overnight 300 for 5 in 85 overs): 428 all out in 129.4 overs (Akshay Wadkar 198, Yash Rathod 134; Sagar Udeshi 4-86, Vijai Raja 3-81, Gaurav Yadav 2-87) lead Puducherry: 107 for 1 in 41 overs (Ritesh Gudge batting 59, Nikhil Gangta batting 32; Harsh Dubey 1-29) by 321 runs.
