One step away

NAGPUR: Five individual centuries; two 500-plus team totals; a newly-acquired flair for delivering the knock-out blow after being punched into the corner; and not to mention, the professionals. It's been a season of many firsts for Vidarbha.
Now the hallowed elite, out of reach so far for Vidarbha, beckons Sairaj Bahatule & Co. Many battles have been won so far.Now the war, as much against the rival-Hyderabad-as against history, looms. The killing acts need to be performed for the one last time so as to ensure a new, although more difficult journey. To set foot on a path that has never been travelled by any Vidarbha side so far in history. The comforting fact is that they have managed to hunt down the inner demons and the opponents so far in the season.
So it came as no surprise as both the camps stressed on continuing with the good things that they have been doing till now. "It's an important game for us. But we have to ensure that the anxiety level doesn't go too much high. We need to keep up the good work we have been doing," Vidarbha skipper Sairaj Bahatule said on Tuesday. Sunil Joshi, Hyderabad coach, wasn't too far away. "We want to do the basics right. We will continue to do what we have been doing so far in season," Joshi said.
The Ranji Plate semifinal-which begins at Vidarbha Cricket Association's Civil Lines Stadium on Wednesday-promises to be an absorbing face-off. On one hand is a team that is keen on chartering unconquered terrains. Vidarbha will hope that they succeed in their second attempt at the Elite since the inception of two-tier competition in Ranji Trophy. Pitted against them are Hyderabad, relegated to the Plate division a couple of season back. No doubt the DB Ravi Teja-led side will go all out to regain their place in the Elite.
Vidarbha's journey towards redemption has been a tale wherein each individual has made himself count. Ranjit Paradkar made the first and the last league outing memorable with two big hundreds in each. In between, the fast-brigade of Sandeep Singh, Amol Junghade, Shreekant Wagh made telling blows. Veterans-Hemang Badani and Sairaj Bahatule-put up a performance befitting the professionals whenever the team was down and ensured Vidarbha were never out. The greenhorns too proved that they were after all not so wet behind the ears. Aniruddha Chore signalled his coming of age with 157 against services.
As for Hyderabad the script hasn't been a multi-starrer one. With three back-to-back tons, opener P Akshath Reddy has more often than not carried the batting on his shoulders. The only support he got came from Syed Quadri who comes lower down the order. The middle-order hasn't been a hit so far. In the bowling department, two left-armers- medium pacer Anwar Ahmed and slow Lalith Mohan-have been the only protagonists.
As the hosts, Vidarbha will dish-out the pitch as per their liking. So it came as no surprise when the curator hinted at the pitch retaining its green tinge on the match morning. After all, their medium pace trio has so far delivered the goods whenever conditions favoured them. That's another first. The usual safety first approach of going for a batters paradise has been done away with. Why go for the first innings lead when you can go for the kill?
Let's hope that the season of many firsts culminates into a historic new for Vidarbha.