Vidarbha outclass Maharashtra, march into Vijay Hazare Trophy final

Vidarbha will face four-time champions Karnataka in the title clash here on Saturday

Vadodara: Hundreds by Dhruv Shorey and Yash Rathod found a perfect ally in in-form Karun Nair’s brutal fifty as Vidarbha outclassed Maharashtra by 69 runs to enter the Vijay Hazare Trophy final here on Thursday.

Vidarbha will face four-time champions Karnataka in the title clash here on Saturday. Vidarbha posted a mammoth 380 for three, riding on Shorey’s 114 (120b, 14×4, 1×6), Rathod’s 116 (101b, 14×4, 1×6) and Karun’s breezy unbeaten 88 (44b, 9×4, 5×6) after they were asked to bat first.

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At no point, Maharashtra were able to challenge Vidarbha and they were restricted to 311 for seven despite solid fifties by Arshin Kulkarni (90) and Ankit Bawne (50). Nikhil Naik made a quick 49 (26b) to carry Maharashtra past the 300-run mark.

Earlier, openers Shorey and Rathod gave Vidarbha a wonderful start adding 224 runs in 34.4 overs, going through the gears effortlessly. The stand was broken when left-arm spinner Satyajeet Bachav castled Rathod and Shorey too walked back four overs later, giving a simple catch to Bawne off pacer Mukesh Choudhary.

But those quick dismissals did not offer any respite to Maharashtra, and if anything, they were sent on a harsher leather hunt by Karun and wicketkeeper batter Jitesh Sharma (51, 33b 3×4, 3×6). The third-wicket pair added 93 runs in about 10 overs as Vidarbha stormed past the 300-run mark. Jitesh was ousted soon after making his fifty but Karun was in no mood to relent.

He plundered pacer Rajneesh Gurbani for 24 runs in the final over through a sequence of 4, 6, 4, 4 and 6 that saw him leaping from 38-ball 64 to 44-ball 88 as, in total, Vidarbha made over 100 runs in the last seven overs. Karun too swelled his tally in this tournament to 752 runs at an unreal average of 752 and his career List A average too rocketed to 41.34 from pre-tournament 31.74.

Once Jitesh made a stunning tumbling catch to dismiss Maharashtra skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (7) off Darshan Nalkande early in the innings, the fate of the chase was clear. Pacers Nalkande and Nachiket Bhute took three wickets apiece for Vidarbha.

There were a couple of alliances — a 62 between Rahul Tripathi and Kulkarni for the second wicket and a 94 between Kulkarni and Bawne for the fourth wicket — but enough only to give a semblance of respectability to the Maharashtra total.

Brief Scores: Vidarbha 380/3 in 50 overs (Dhruv Shorey 114, Yash Rathod 116, Karun Nair 88, Jitesh Sharma 55) bt Maharashtra 311/7 in 50 overs (Arshin Kulkarni 90, Ankit Bawne 50; Nachiket Bhute 3/68).