Vidarbha gain backdoor entry

NAGPUR: Despite losing to Uttar Pradesh by eight wickets Vidarbha had lot to cheer about on Friday. The defeat notwithstanding the hosts made it to the Super League of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 Trophy thanks Madhya Pradesh, who put up an ordinary show on Friday.
Madhya Pradesh faltered after being well in command against Rajasthan. The six-run loss put Madhya Pradesh on par with Vidarbha and Rajasthan at 8 points.It also helped Vidarbha qualify for the Super League of the T20 tournament, to be held in Ranchi, by virtue of better run-rate.
Uttar Pradesh, with the win over Vidarbha, finally achieved a long-awaited dream-a berth in the final round of the T20 meet. They had never been to this stage since the Inter-state Twenty20 tournament started in 2006. On the last day of the Central Zone Syed Mushtaq Ali Twenty20 Trophy, UP were up against spirited Vidarbha and all they need was to keep things simple. They did that and walked away with an eight-wicket victory, which also gave them the Central Zone crown.
Their bowlers set up the game restricting Vidarbha to 128-8 on good track. Mohd Kaif (64, 53b, 6x4, 1x6) then used all his experience to lead the chase in company of Prashant Gupta (53, 47b, 5x4, 1x6) as UP achieved the target in 18.3 overs.
It was struggle for Vidarbha right from the start after they were put in to bat. In good batting conditions the hosts needed to bat sensibly but that didn't happen. Their openers got out early, exposing the middle order. Faiz Fazal (19, 26b, 2x4) and Amol Ubarhande (18, 14b, 3x4) then tried to steady the ship but both got out in quick succession leaving Vidarbha tottering at 4-48 in the 10th over.
Things went from bad to worse by the 14th over as Vidarbha were reduced to 6 for 68.
Apoorva Wankhede (40*, 22b, 4x4, 2x6) and Ravi Jangid (22, 23b, 2x4) then joined hands to take the hosts to a respectable total. Their 48-run seventh wicket stand came in just 30 balls. Wankhede's aggressive batting helped Vidarbha cross 125-run mark. He hit a huge six off RP Singh, besides three boundaries off Praveen Kumar in the penultimate over. Wankhede finished off the innings with a six off Imtiaz Ahamd over the covers.
The chase saw UP losing Eklavya Dwivedi in the second over. Kaif walked in next and dictated terms from the onset. He pushed Vidarbha on the backfoot with three boundaries off Shreekant Wagh. Skipper Shalabh Shrivastava introduced Jangid in the fifth over but he too was hit for two inside out shots. Gupta too started off positively and his two back-to-back boundaries off Wagh set up the chase.
By the half way stage, the match was only going one way. The only academic interest left was the number of overs UP would take to finish it off. They were in no hurry and were home with nine balls to spare. Swapnil Bandiwar's fine spell (4-0-20-2) was the only positive for Vidarbha. UP's leisurely chase also helped Vidarbha's cause as later MP failed to overcome Rajasthan in the last league match.
BRIEF SCORES
Vidarbha 128-8 in 20 overs (Apoorva Wankhede 40*, Ravi Jangid 22, Faiz Fazal 19; RP Singh 2-18, Imtiaz Ahmad 2-35, Praveen Kumar & Piyush Chawla one wicket each) lost to UP 131-2 in 18.3 overs (Mohd Kaif 64*, Prashant Gupta 53, Akshdeep Nath 11*; Swapnil Bandiwar 2-20) by eight wickets.