NAGPUR: Vidarbha skipper Siddesh Wath surprised Madhya Pradesh when he handed the very second over of the 4-day match to off-spinner Yash Kadam, at Vadodara. The out-of-the-box move ended up choking the batters on a damp pitch.
Wath applied more pressure by bringing in the most economical left-arm spinner Parth Rekhade in place of Kadam in the first hour itself, to put the rivals on a sticky note by reducing them to 106 for 3 at Alembic-2 ground. By the time the pitch dried up and the batsmen could settle in, Vidarbha had got the start they needed after winning the toss in the semifinal of Col CK Nayudu Trophy.
Madhya Pradesh collected runs cautiously throughout the day and were placed at 241 for 7 in 90 overs at stumps on Day-1. As the runs were coming at a snail's pace, Rekhade drew first blood in the 9th over, while pacer Shanmesh Deshmukh (12-4-13-3) grabbed two scalps, leaving Madhya Pradesh without its top-3 in-form batters cheaply.
With the formidable batting line-up that had troubled all their previous rivals caught on the backfoot, Wath used his cards wisely.
Once the wicket became easy to bat on from the post-lunch session, Wath cleverly used Rekhade (23-4-56-2), left-arm Harsh Dubey (18-5-43-1) and nippy pacer Nachiket Bhute (18-4-45-1) in rotation to keep the pressure on rivals intact. They bowled 59 overs between them, taking four key wickets.
After Madhya Pradesh found themselves in a delicate position, no.7 Irfan Ali (32) looked at ease in the middle. Ali and no.6 Rishabh Chouhan (33) had begun rebuilding the innings with a 61-run stand for the 6th wicket. They played some on-the-up drives that certainly gave them confidence after losing 5 wickets for 135.
However, after spinners, it was Vidarbha pacers' turn. Bhute castled Chouhan with his fiery pace, while Deshmukh showed his skills with the older ball as he brought one back sharply to trap Ali (32) plumb.
Earlier, Rekhade showed great control with the new ball as well as the old one. The way he forced the batters into committing mistakes made him stand out. On the other hand, Deskmukh exploited the morning conditions by consistently bowling in the area of uncertainty and effecting two top-order caught behind dismissals.
Vidarbha have got an upper hand and would not like to let the advantage slip. They would look to cut short the stay of Rahul Batham (14 n.o), centurion from the last match, on the second morning. Batham has Ritesh Shakya (19 n.o) in company at the crease.
BRIEF SCORES:
Madhya Pradesh 241 for 7 in 90 overs (Yash Dubey 41, Mohd. Aquil 35; Shanmesh Deshmukh 3-13, Parth Rekhade 2-56) vs Vidarbha
