Skipper Dubey Snaps 6, Vidarbha Start Strong

Nagpur: Ahead of the must-win match, Vidarbha suffered a big blow with man in form Yash Rathod joining Dhruv Shorey in the injured list. Still, the defending champions, led by skipper Harsh Dubey, made a strong start against Uttar Pradesh on Thursday.Dubey posted his best bowling figures of the season as Vidarbha bundled out Uttar Pradesh for 237 in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group ‘A' match at Jamtha Stadium. The openers returned unbeaten as Vidarbha finished Day 1 with 33 on board.
Dubey upped his game when Vidarbha needed it most. The left-arm spinner returned with a six-wicket haul to derail the Uttar Pradesh innings. Dubey's 6 for 63 is his best in the four Ranji matches of this season. The decision to bat first didn't prove right for Uttar Pradesh as barring Dhruv Jurel (96;122b;11x4) none of the other batters put a resistance against Vidarbha attack. Nachiket Bhute dealt the first blow by cleaning up Madhav Kaushik (4;20b) in the eighth over of the day with the scoreboard reading 14. From thereon, Dubey destroyed the rival's top order by snapping up the next three wickets. Dubey started by rattling the stumps of opener Abhishek Goswami (14;35b;1x4;1x6) with Uttar Pradesh on 24 in 12.3 overs. Next up, Dubey sent back his opposite number Aryan Juyal (12;44b;2x4) in the 23rd over with substitute Atharva Taide taking a neat catch. A few overs later, Dubey reduced Uttar Pradesh to 50 for 4 by inducing an edge off Aaditya Sharam (18;47b;3x4) which was cleanly pocketed by wicketkeeper Rohit Binkar. The 43-run partnership between Jurel and Siddharth Yadav (19;30b;1x4;1x6) was snapped by Praful Hinge. At the other end, Parth Rekhade had Shivam Sharma (1;10b) caught behind as Uttar Pradesh slid to 109 for 6. With his team staring down the barrel, Jurel found an able partner in Shivam Mavi. The two took the attack to the Vidarbha bowlers, scoring 92 runs in 106 balls. Desperately needing a wicket, Dubey pressed Yash Kadam into the attack. The off spinner didn't disappoint by removing Mavi (47;57b;5x4;1x6) in his first over. Dubey denied Jurel a century and later wrapped up the tail in quick time to post his six-for. Vidarbha openers Aman Mokhade (19;39b;2x4) and Satyam Bhoyar (13;34b;2x4) remained unbeaten for 12 overs as Vidarbha finished Day 1 on 33. With Yash Rathod and Dhruv Shorey, Vidarbha's batting mainstay this season, out of action due to injury, the openers along with Danish Malewar and R Samarth will need to bat big. Facing a must-win situation, the defending champions wouldn't want to chase a big target in the fourth innings, especially on a dry surface. BRIEF SCORES Uttar Pradesh: 237 all out in 68.5 overs (Dhruv Jurel 96, Shivam Navi 47; Harsh Dubey 6-63, Nachiket Bhute 1-21, Yash Kadam 1-11, Praful Hinge 1-45, Parth Rekhade 1-60) lead Vidarbha: 33 for no loss in 12 overs (Aman Mokhade batting 19, Satyam Bhoyar batting 13) by 204 runs.