Ranji Trophy: Vidarbha end Day 1 on 308/5 against Mumbai
What's the story
Vidarbha ended Day 1 of the ongoing Ranji Trophy semi-final on a high against Mumbai.
The former managed to score 308/5 at stumps. Dhruv Shorey (74) and Danish Malewar (79) were the top contributors for Vidarbha.
For Mumbai, Shams Mulani and Shivam Dube picked up two wickets each.
Here are further details.
Strong start
Shorey and Malewar's half-centuries bolster Vidarbha's position
Vidarbha's strong show in the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Mumbai was largely due to half-centuries from Shorey and Malewar.
Shorey scored 74 from 109 balls. Malewar managed 79 runs from 157 balls.
Their contributions have set a solid foundation for Vidarbha, possibly taking them past the 400-run mark.
However, four of their top five batsmen failed to convert promising starts, giving Mumbai an opening through left-arm spinner Mulani and all-rounder Dube, who took two wickets each.
Resilient partnership
Rathod and Wadkar hold fort for Vidarbha
At the close of play, Yash Rathod, Vidarbha's top run-scorer this season, remained unbeaten on 47 with captain Akshay Wadkar who was not out at 13.
This pair successfully negotiated the final hour of play after Vidarbha lost Karun Nair and Malewar in quick succession.
Their resilient partnership has kept Vidarbha in a strong position despite some batting lapses throughout the day.
Match strategy
Vidarbha's strategic decision and early dismissal
Vidarbha started the day by opting to bat first in their second match at the VCA Stadium this season.
They had played a high-scoring draw against Gujarat at the venue last year.
However, Atharva Taide was dismissed early after the openers negotiated the first spell from Shardul Thakur and Mohit Avasthi.
Royston Dias got Taide with a lifter he gloved behind to wicketkeeper Akash Anand, handing Vidarbha an early setback.
Steady partnership
Shorey and Malewar's partnership steadies Vidarbha
Shorey responded to the early dismissal with a flurry of cover drives and cuts.
He was joined by Parth Rekhade, who was playing only his second first-class match after Vidarbha opted to field an extra batter in place of off-spinner Akshay Wakhare.
The duo added 54 runs before Dube dismissed Rekhade for 23, another crucial moment in the match.
Building innings
Nair and Malewar build innings for Vidarbha
After Rekhade's dismissal, Shorey and Malewar added another 51 runs before Mulani got his first wicket by dismissing Shorey for 74.
Nair then joined Malewar at the crease and started building the innings steadily.
Although he fell against the run of play in the final session for 45, Nair's contribution with Malewar helped Vidarbha's score get a boost.
Information
775 runs for Rathod in Ranji this season
Rathod is unbeaten on 47 from 86 balls. He is closing in on another fine fifty. In nine matches (15 innings), he has 775 runs at the moment, averaging 55.35. He has already slammed 4 tons and 2 fifties this season.