Nagpur: The scenes at the Jamtha Stadium unfolded even more perfectly than the script envisioned by the Vidarbha team management for Wednesday. Each player put up a stellar show as Vidarbha delivered a dramatic 160-run win over Pondicherry in the Ranji Trophy opener.The Pondicherry batters showed enough defiance the other day to somewhat hog the limelight. The former champions, though, came into their own in the last act, bringing down the curtains on rivals. Chasing a 291-run target, Pondicherry fluffed their lines and were bundled out for 130. Vidarbha, on the other hand, grabbed six points for their five-star performance.The last day started with batters — Dhruv Shorey (69;75b;7×4;1×6) and Aman Mokhade (65;93b;4×4) — scoring at a brisk rate. They gave Vidarbha bowlers more than two sessions to go for an outright win. The bowlers — Harsh Dubey (4-29), Parth Rekhade (3-43) and Mokhade (2-31) — ensured the job was done well within the last session as Pondicherry were done and dusted in 41.1 overs.Vidarbha made the intent clear from the outset as overnight batter Harsh Dubey (14;12b;2×4;1×6) hit two fours and a six in the first seven balls of the morning. Post Dubey’s dismissal, Mokhade and Shorey scored at more than 6 per over. The batters hit 153 runs in 25 overs to help the team declare at 175 for 3 inside the first session.With just minutes left for lunch, Vidarbha started with an all-spin attack to get as many overs as possible on the Day 4 pitch. Like everything else on Wednesday, the ploy worked perfectly for Vidarbha. Left-arm spinner Dubey struck twice in the second over, sending back Ritesh Gudge and Nikhil Gangta for a duck, as Pondicherry crashed to 4 for 2.Dubey struck again in the sixth over of the second session, trapping Ankit Sharma (5;15b;1×4) lbw. On the first ball of the next over, Parth Rekhade caught and bowled Pondicherry skipper Neyan Kangayan (17;28b;2×4;1×6) to all but end the visitors’ fight. Wicketkeeper batsman Prasad Pawar (48;90b;6×4) waged a lone battle before falling to Mokhade.Vidarbha skipper Akshay Wadkar was adjudged the player of the match for his 198-run knock in the first innings.BRIEF SCORES:Vidarbha: 428 & (overnight 22 for 1) 175 for 3 (decl) in 36 overs (Dhruv Shorey 69*, Aman Mokhade 65; Neyan Kangayan 1-30) beat Pondicherry: 313 & 130 all out in 41.1 overs (Prasad Pawar 48, Sagar Trivedi 20; Harsh Dubey 4-29, Parth Rekhade 3-43, Aman Mokhade 2-31, Praful Hinge 1-21) by 160 runs. Player of the match: Akshay Wadkar. Points: Vidarbha: 6, Pondicherry: 0.
