Nair’s ton propels Vidarbha to third successive win

Nagpur: Karun Nair, the captain as well as the batter, has hit a purple patch midway into the domestic season. The professional has led Vidarbha to three wins in team's as many matches of the Vijay Hazare Trophy this year. The skipper has remained unbeaten in all these matches, scripting Vidarbha's successful run chase.In Vidarbha's last nine outings, across T20s and One-dayers, Nair has been the player of the match in five, including against Chandigarh in Vizag on Saturday. His unbeaten big hundred, 163 off just 107 balls, fueled Vidarbha's 316-run chase. The win propelled Vidarbha to the top of Group ‘D' with 12 points.The whirlwind knock also saw Nair enter the record book. It is the highest score by a Vidarbha skipper in Vijay Hazare Trophy, bettering the 112-mark set by Nair himself a few days ago against J&K.Vidarbha needed someone to play a big knock to reach the 326-run target. Nair did just that, scoring more than half of the runs put up by Vidarbha. Openers Dhruv Shorey and Yash Rathod laid a perfect foundation for the run chase. They added 69 runs in 13.3 overs for the first wicket before Rathod (27;34b;3x4) departed. From thereon it was Nair show all the way.The skipper first stitched a 45-run partnership with Shorey to take Vidarbha to 114 for 2 in 20.2 overs. After the dismissal of Shorey (57;67b;7x4), Nair engineered three more partnerships — with Yash Kadam (19;20b;1x6), Jitesh Sharma (13;19b;1x4) and Apoorv Wankhade (17;18b;2x4). In all these partnerships, Nair was the chief contributor as Vidarbha reached 231 for 5 in 38.1 overs.With 85 runs needed from 71 balls, Nair, who was on 94 off 71 balls at that stage, accelerated in a big way. The professional from Karnataka blasted 69 runs off the next 36 balls he faced to take Vidarbha to the 316-run target with two overs to spare.Nair scored at a T20sh strike rate of 152.34, slamming 20 fours and two sixes to post his second century of the tournament.In the first part of the match, Chandigarh skipper Manan Vohra also scored a century (101;117b;5x4;3x6) laying a solid foundation for his team. Later, explosive unbeaten knocks by Ankit Kaushik (59;39b;4x4;4x6) and Amrit Lubana (58;35b;1x4;5x6) helped Chandigarh score 315. BRIEF SCORESChandigarh: 315 for 4 in 50 overs (Manan Vohra 101, Ankit Kaushik 59*, Amrit Lubana 58*, Shivam Bhambri 44; Yash Kadam 1-61, Yash Thakur 1-65, Nachiket Bhute 1-66) lost to Vidarbha: 316 for 5 in 48 overs (Karun Nair 163*; Dhruv Shorey 57, Yash Kadam 19; Nishunk Birla 2-61) by five wickets.
Explore the yearly horoscope 2025 for Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces zodiac signs. Spread love this holiday season with these New Year wishes, messages and quotes.