Irani Cup: Vidarbha grind down Rest of India

NAGPUR: Three hundred and twenty-two deliveries. Four and a half hours. In the grand scheme of red-ball cricket , it doesn’t sound like an eternity. Yet, for the Rest of India ( RoI ), it must have felt like slow suffocation — one dot ball at a time. On a humid afternoon at the VCA Jamtha , Vidarbha ’s lower order endured blows and resisted temptations to slowly squeeze the life out of RoI’s hopes.

By the time birthday boy Darshan Nalkande’s stubborn vigil ended minutes before the extended tea break on Day 4 of Irani Cup , Vidarbha had stretched their second innings to 232 — a total that swelled into significance when placed atop a 128-run first innings lead. The target of 361, on a weary surface with low bounce and dark clouds hovering, was always going to be challenging. Soon enough, RoI were gasping at 30 for two when rain finally intervened, leaving them still adrift.

The morning had promised RoI a way back. Seamer Anshul Kamboj charged in with fresh legs, ripping through Vidarbha’s middle order with three wickets in a burst that gave the visitors a flicker of belief. Kamboj sent Danish Malewar, Rathod and Dhruv Shorey back in the hut. In just 30 minutes, Vidarbha had slipped from 96 for 2 to 105 for 5. That’s when the grit, embedded in Vidarbha’s cricketing DNA for the last few years, took over.

Captain Akshay Wadkar , who has made a career out of turning grind into art, absorbed the blows that rained on his ribs and gloves. His 36 off 125 balls was an innings of defiance. With Harsh Dubey’s freewheeling 29 and Nalkande’s patient 92-ball 35, Wadkar helped Vidarbha reclaim the narrative. By the time the tail folded, RoI had spent more than half the day watching their chance slip further away in the Nagpur heat.

When RoI began their chase, there was urgency in their stride. Already behind the eight-ball after conceding the first innings lead, they wanted to go for the kill. Abhimanyu Easwaran cracked consecutive boundaries in the opening over, and Aryan Juyal followed suit.

For a brief moment, it looked like the chase was on. But then Aditya Thakare straightened one to shatter Juyal’s stumps, and Dubey’s arm ball rapped Easwaran plumb in front. The scoreboard read 24 for two, and the clouds rolled in to draw a curtain over RoI’s gloom. Had it not been for a couple of dropped chances, Vidarbha would have had the RoI openers back in the hut quite early.

At stumps, captain Rajat Patidar and Ishan Kishan were clinging on, surviving close calls and referrals. With the pitch growing tired and the bowlers relentless, Vidarbha’s grip on a third Irani Cup title only tightened.

BRIEF SCORES: Vidarbha 342 & 232 in 94.1 overs (Aman Mokhade 37, Akshay Wadkar 36, Darshan Nalkande 35; Anshul Kamboj 4/34, Gurnoor Brar 2/41) lead Rest of India: 214 and 30/2 in 12 overs (Ishan Kishan 5*, Rajat Patidar 2*) by 330 runs.