Vidarbha’s Inaugural Vijay Hazare Trophy Win Hindered by Meghalaya’s Resilience
JAIPUR: In a thrilling encounter at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Thursday, Darshan Nalkande and Karun Nair stole the show, but Vidarbha struggled to secure a definitive victory against Meghalaya in their opening match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy (Group B).
Vidarbha managed to clinch a 32-run win against Meghalaya, kickstarting their campaign on a positive note. However, the underdogs from Meghalaya certainly gave their fancied opponents a run for their money, pushing them to their limits on multiple occasions in the 50-over match.
During Meghalaya’s chase of a modest target of 244, a resilient 78-run partnership for the fifth wicket between Kishan Lyndoh (44) and Swarajeet Das (33) rattled Vidarbha’s confidence, leaving them in a precarious position. At 155 for 4 in the 38th over, Meghalaya posed a significant threat to Vidarbha’s hopes of victory.
Fortunately for Vidarbha, medium-pacer Rajneesh Gurbani made a breakthrough by dismissing Kishan, putting an end to Meghalaya’s charge. With this crucial wicket, Vidarbha’s bowlers successfully contained Meghalaya’s tail, securing a comfortable win in the end.
Seamer Darshan Nalkande shone as the most successful bowler, claiming three wickets for 35 runs. Despite conceding 59 runs, Gurbani also managed to grab two wickets. Left-arm spinner Akshay Karnewar delivered a tidy spell with figures of 2-24, contributing to the team’s victory. Harsh Dubey and Atharva Taide chipped in with a wicket each.
In the batting department, Vidarbha overcame early setbacks to post a respectable total of 243 for 9. However, the lack of bounce on the pitch posed a significant challenge for Vidarbha’s batsmen, resulting in difficulties in shot-making and phases of low scoring.
Karun Nair adapted well to the challenging SMS pitch, scoring 67 off 80 balls, including five boundaries. Skipper Atharva Taide (35 off 44 balls, 6×4) and Akshay Wadkar (36 off 49 balls, 2×4) made promising starts but failed to capitalize on them. It was Harsh Dubey and Darshan Nalkande’s sensible batting towards the end that boosted the team’s total after they found themselves in a precarious position at 187 for 7 in the 41st over.
In other matches of the day, Services triumphed over Chhattisgarh by 40 runs, Jharkhand stunned Maharashtra with a 6-wicket victory, and Hyderabad defeated Manipur by 5 wickets.
Brief Scores:
Vidarbha: 243/9 in 50 overs (Karun Nair 67, Akshay Wadkar 36, Atharva Taide 35, Harsh Dubey 20 not out, Darshan Nalkande 20; Dippu 4-43, Akash Kumar 2-47)
Meghalaya: 211 in 48.1 overs (Kishan Lyndoh 57, Swarajeet Das 44, Nakul Verma 34, R Biswa 24; Darshan Nalkande 3-35, Akshay Karnewar 2-24, Rajneesh Gurbani 2-59, Atharva Taide 1-12, Harsh Dubey 1-36)
As the Vijay Hazare Trophy progresses, Vidarbha will hope to build on their winning start and find more stability in future matches.
