Atharva Taide misses out on ton as Vidarbha U-23 eke out a draw vs Gujarat

NAGPUR: Vidarbha skipper Atharva Taide (99 off 148 balls) did everything he could to chase the difficult 304-run target against Gujarat on Sunday.
However, the other recognized batters failed to live up to their reputation as Vidarbha somehow eked out a draw in dying moments of the Day 4 of Under-23 CK Nayudu Trophy match at Valsad on Sunday.
Chasing 304 for win, Gujarat had reduced Vidarbha to 203 for 9 with 3 overs to go in the match.The last pair of Aditya Thakare (0* off 18 balls) and Sourabh Dubey (8* off 6 balls) held their nerves with entire Gujarat players standing at close fielding position.
The Vidarbha pair waged a difficult battle and secured a draw when last ball of 71st overs was bowled with 211 for 9 on board.
After Vidarbha were reeling at 66 for 3, Taide and Pawan Parnate (53) played well and pumped hopes with their attacking display. The left-handed Taide, who struck a useful 82 in first innings, was in aggressive mode as he was seeking a victory. Taide and Parnate added 104 runs for the fourth wicket when the latter was caught plumb in front.
After Parnate’s departure, Vidarbha needed 134 runs approximately in 25-26 overs. Taide was going strong but lacked a stronger batsmen at the other end. They were unfortunate that Siddhesh Wath was not fully fit as he was battling a sudden and severe dengue fever from Day 2 and was not able to come to the ground.
Wath, however, arrived after Vidarbha lost Parth Rekhade at 178 in search of win. Rekhade and Taide, who hit 8 boundaries and 2 sixes, were Vidarbha’s last hope. Rekhade did not last long. Within 16 balls of joining hands with Wath, Taide ended up edging Jayveer Sinh’s delivery behind. In the next two balls, Jayveer sent Darshan Nalkande back to seize Vidarbha chances. Later, it was all about playing out time and Vidarbha tail-enders did a great job.
Earlier, Gujarat were skittled out for 251 in 67.5 overs after they resumed at the overnight 175 for 3.
BRIEF SCORES
Gujarat 401 & (Overnight 175-3) 251 all out 67.5 overs (Kathan Patel 83, S Chauhan 64; P Rekhade 4-72, G Dhoble 2-78, A Taide 2-29, A Choudhari 2-7) drew with Vidarbha 349 & 211 for 9 in 71 overs (Atharva Taide 99, Pawan Parnate 53; S Desai 5-65, Jayveer Sinh 2-14). Points: Gujarat 3, Vidarbha 1.