NAGPUR: Vidarbha middle-order led by southpaw
Yash Rathod
has been consistent. Their form has troubled all the bowling attacks with their ability to adapt to any situation. Their confident batting has taken defending champions Vidarbha to the semis, where they will lock horns with Madhya Pradesh in Vadodara from Monday.
Former India under-19 player Rathod, the highest run-getter for Vidarbha with 459 runs, including 3 centuries in 4 games, is batting at the top of his game. He has not only held his end firmly but also woven decent partnerships that drove Vidarbha to the semis.
No.3 Rathod followed by Mohit Kale, Yash Kadam and Siddesh Wath, in that order, threw their hats in the ring whenever the team found itself on a sticky wicket.
The Wath-led outfit have been blessed with Aman Mokhade's form at the top of the order. Mokhade has two centuries to his name in the tournament and has given good starts playing quality bowlers.
Vidarbha batters need to come good once again when another good bowling side of MP comes hard at them post their quarterfinal result over Punjab.
MP would be wary of Vidarbha allrounders Harsh Dubey and Parth Rekhade, both left-arm spinners. The spinner duo has complemented the batsmen with their superb and to-the-plan spells. While Rekhade has been economical from one end, Harsh has attacked from the other and purchased wickets with aplomb.
MP would come prepared to deal with this deadly Vidarbha spin pair, which has 43 wickets between them. If Harsh, who is the 3rd highest wicket-taker in the tournament, gets going and economical Rekhade dictates terms to MP from one end, Vidarbha can hope to play the final again.