Vidarbha's lower-order sets Rest of India a fighting 361-run target for Irani Cup glory

Vidarbha put themselves in a strong position to win the Irani Cup by setting Rest of India a target of 361 and then taking two wickets in the fourth innings.

Starting the day at 96 for 2, Vidarbha were troubled by Anshul Kamboj and Saransh Jain but useful contributions from the lower-middle order lifted them from 105 for 5 to 232. No. 6 and Vidarbha captain Akshay Wadkar made 36, No. 7 Harsh Dubey contributed 29 and No. 9 Darshan Nalkande scored 39.

Kamboj, the pick of the Rest of India bowlers, dismissed Vidarbha's Nos. 3 to 6. Danesh Malewar's inside edge onto his pads was taken in the slip cordon. Dhruv Shorey was lbw by a length ball angling in. Yash Rathod was caught behind with a ball moving away. Wadkar was also dismissed to a catch by wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan with the new ball. It took Kamboj only 12 overs to return figures of 4 for 34.

In their chase of 361, Rest of India lost both openers before stumps. Aditya Thakare bowled Aryan Juyal through his defences to knock his poles back. Dubey then dismissed Abhimanyu Easwaran lbw which the batter reviewed unsuccessfully.

Ishan Kishan (5*) and Rajat Patidar (2*) were not out at stumps, leaving Rest of India needing a further 331 runs with eight wickets in hand. Vidarbha are chasing a third Irani Cup title in the last decade, having won in 2017-18 and 2018-19.