Yash Rathod slams his fifth hundred of Ranji Trophy 2024-25
What's the story
Team Vidarbha has put itself in a commanding position against Mumbai in the ongoing Ranji Trophy semi-final clash, courtesy of a century from Yash Rathod.
The team scored 292 runs in their second innings as Rathod played a 151-run knock.
This means Mumbai have a daunting task of chasing 406 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur .
Meanwhile, this was Rathod's fifth hundred of the season.
Initial clash
How has the match proceeded?
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, Vidarbha scored a mammoth 383/10 in their first innings.
Mumbai could only score 270/10 in reply, handing Vidarbha a 113-run lead in the first innings.
Vidarbha scored another 292/10 in the second innings, taking their overall lead to a mammoth 405 runs.
Rathod has played a major role in Vidarbha's dominance.
Key performances
Rathod's century and Wadkar's contribution bolster Vidarbha
As mentioned, Rathod was Vidarbha's savior in the third innings.
The middle-order batter scored an impressive 151 runs off 252 balls. Notably, Vidarbha were reeling at 56/4 when he arrived to bat.
Captain and wicket-keeper Akshay Wadkar also played a crucial role with a solid half-century of 52 runs.
The duo added 158 runs for the fifth wicket. The team eventually finished at 292/10.
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Mumbai's bowling efforts in 2nd innings
Mumbai spinner Shams Mulani delivered a commendable performance against Vidarbha in the second innings, claiming six wickets for 85 runs in 44 overs. Tanush Kotian also contributed with three wickets for 81 runs. Shardul Thakur managed to secure one success.
Stats
900-plus runs in the season for Rathod
Rathod scripted twin 50-plus scores in the semi-final as he backed his 113-ball 54 from the first innings with a 252-ball 151.
With this, he became, the first batter to accomplish five tons in Ranji Trophy 2024-25 (50s: 3).
He has, overall, raced to 933 runs across nine games at 58.31 in the season.
Only MP's Shubham Sharma (943) and Hyderabad's Tanmay Agarwal (934) boast more runs this year, as per ESPNcricinfo.
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Here are his FC stats
Overall, this was Rathod's sixth First-Class ton. The tally includes five fifties as well. He has raced to 1,478 runs across 16 games at a brilliant average of 47-plus. Rathod also boasts 859 List A runs at 47.72.