Taide ton, Rathod 91 steady Vidarbha against Rest of India

Vidarbha opener Atharva Taide scored an unbeaten 118 on the first day of the Irani Cup in Nagpur, putting his team on course for a strong first-innings total against Rest of India. He was

He began the day alongside Aman Mokhade, who hit four boundaries during his 27-ball 19, before nicking an Akash Deep delivery in the eighth over of the match. Akash Deep - returning to competitive cricket for the first time since his Test tour of England - found success at either end of the day's play. He was the most economical bowler for Rest of India, going at just 2.50 across his 14 overs.

Akash Deep capped off the day by having Vidarbha captain Akshay Wadkar caught behind for 5 in the 82nd over. Vidarbha were reduced to 275 for 5, and Taide batted out the remaining overs alongside Yash Thakur to take Vidarbha to stumps on 280 for 5.

Earlier in the day, Rajasthan allrounder Manav Suthar had threatened to roll them over for much less. Fresh off an eight-for against Australia A in Lucknow, he took back-to-back wickets in his first over - the 23rd of the innings. First, he cleaned up Dhruv Shorey (18) while the batter was playing down the wrong line, before he had Danish Malewar caught behind just three balls later. The latter was the second of three catches Ishan Kishan completed behind the stumps.

At 80 for 3, 25-year-old Yash Rathod walked in. He stopped the slide and continued his good form from the Duleep Trophy, where he had scored 374 runs in five innings at 124.67. Rathod and Taide batted through the second session, and looked all set to bat till stumps.

However, after having hit Suthar for a six just the previous ball in the 74th over, Rathod skipped down the track for the second time in a row and holed out to mid-off on 91 against the run of play. The dismissal ended a 184-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

While Akash Deep snared the fifth wicket before the close of play, Taide's presence in the middle will be essential to Vidarbha's hopes on the second day. In case an outright result cannot be achieved over five days, the team with the first-innings lead will be declared the winner.

Vidarbha will thus be looking to bat deep in their first Irani Cup outing since the 2018-19 edition, which they won through a first-innings lead as well.