Saurashtra take Day 1 honours in Ranji final against Vidarbha

NAGPUR: All his life Faiz Fazal believed in doing simple things correctly rather than doing things differently.
The Vidarbha skipper was doing just that after opting to bat. He had almost negated the Jaidev Unadkat threat by countering his swing on the first morning of their Ranji Trophy final against Saurashtra. Along with Wasim Jaffer (23, 67b, 1x4, 1x6), Faiz (16, 35b, 2x4) was consolidating Vidarbha innings after early loss of his partner Sanjay Ramaswamy, till he had a brain fade.
Faiz defended Unadkat's incoming delivery. The inside edge went through backward square leg. Faiz ran the first run hard but looked little casual while taking the second. Chetan Sakaria fired in a brilliant flat throw to the wicketkeeper Snell Patel who removed the bails in a flash. Faiz was caught short of the crease. Unfortunately, on this occasion, he couldn't do the simple things right. It was the moment that turned the contest Saurashtra's way.
Vidarbha kept on losing wickets after that. Their middle order was exposed early. It was a chance for the rest of the batting line-up to rise above the shadow of Jaffer and Faiz. Sanjay (2) didn't look comfortable during his 18-ball stay. Mohit Kale (35, 126b, 4x4), promoted to No.4, wasted another promising start. Ganesh Satish's (32, 86b, 1x4, 1x6) struggle with the bat continued, while Aditya Sarvate's (0) average season continued.
Akshay Wadkar (45, 115b, 5x4) tried to stem the rot in the company of Akshay Karnewar (31 not out, 71b, 3x4, 1x6) with a 57-run seventh wicket stand. However, Wadkar's wicket in the 88th over gave an upper hand to Saurashtra. Vidarbha had a below par first day in the all-important Ranji Trophy final as they somehow got to 200-7 in their first innings.
For a change, both Jaffer and Faiz failed together and it cost Vidarbha dearly. Saurashtra bowlers took full advantage of their failures. They not only bowled tightly but picked up wickets at regular intervals to peg back Vidarbha's progress.
The Jamtha wicket was slow and far from ideal for stroke making but Vidarbha batsmen made it look far more threatening with their average shot selection. Sanjay, chosen ahead of in-form Atharva Taide, chased the wide one which he could have left alone. Jaffer edged one behind when left-arm pacer Unadkat came round the wicket, and bowled back of length delivery which moved away after pitching.
Jaffer's wicket at the stroke of lunch was a big setback for Vidarbha. Jaffer and Kale had done all the hard work after Vidarbha lost their openers. Since it's a five-day game, they took sufficient time to get their eye in but got out after being well set.
Satish looked good during his stay. His 46-run stand with Kale had given some stability to Vidarbha innings. Kale, after a slow start, started playing positively. However, he succumbed to a harmless Kamlesh Makwana delivery, providing catching practice to Harvik Desai at first slip.
The regular wickets allowed Saurashtra skipper Unadkat to operate with medium pacers of Prerak Mankad for a long time and to attack from the other end. Mankad hardly provided anything loose to Vidarbha batsmen and picked up the wicket of Satish. Vidarbha soon lost Sarvate and looked in big trouble.
The seventh-wicket stand between Wadkar and Karnewar helped Vidarbha reach the 200-run mark. However, with second new ball just an over old, Vidarbha have their task cut out on the second day. Clearly, it's now up to the Vidarbha bowlers to put their hands up.
SCOREBOARD
Vidarbha (1st Innings): Faiz Fazal run out Chetan Sakariya 16, Sanjay Ramaswamy c A Vasavada b J Unadkat 2, Wasim Jaffer c Snell Patel b J Unadkat 23, Mohit Kale c H Desai b K Makwana 35, Ganesh Satish c Snell Patel b Prerak Mankad 32, Akshay Wadkar c Prerak Mankad b Chetan Sakariya 45, Aditya Sarvate c H Desai b D Jadeja 0, Akshay Karnewar batting 31, Akshay Wakhare batting 0;
Extras (b 5, lb 11) 16;
Total: (7 wickets; 90 overs) 200;
Fall of wickets: 1-21, 2-29, 3-60, 4-106, 5-134, 6-139, 7-196;
Bowling: