Mongia ton paves way for 124 run Chemplast victory

Vidarbha succumbed to a 124 run loss against a Chemplast side powered to a commanding total of 252 by a Dinesh Mongia century in the Moin ud Dowlah Cup. The state side lost the toss and with that their fortunes slid from bad to worse.

The Chemplast side led by veteran Tamil Nadu all-rounder Diwakar Vasu got to a bad start, losing opener Ganesh Kumar with just 6 runs on the board. However, the in form Badrinath then strode out and managed to steady the ship. It was not until the fall of the second wicket with 24 on the board that fortunes really swung towards Chemplast. In walked Punjab middle order batsman Dinesh Mongia. He took the bull by the horns, and pieced together an invaluable 101 (107b, 5x4). Although he struck just 5 boundaries in the course of his innings, he did not waste any time scoring his runs.

At the other end, Mongia was well supported by Vasanth Saravanan who managed to make 38 in an 89 run stand for the 4th wicket before he was run out. The dismissal of Saravanan gave Mumbai southpaw Jatin Paranjpe a chance to prove his mettle with around 18 overs to go. The 22 year old off spinner Amol Jichkar accounted for Paranjpe (25) and by this stage, Chemplast were sitting pretty with 185 to their credit. Ajay Kuduva, known as a clean striker of the ball, helped himself to 22 off just 14 balls and the Chennai corporate side ended their innings on 252/7.

Mongia's century was the backbone of a score that would take some beating.

Although Vidarbha openers Amit Deshpande and Ali Akbar got them off to a reasonable start, the fall of the first wicket was indeed the beginning of the end. With no batsman managing to stay at the wicket long enough to make a significant score, the Chemplast bowlers made merry. Opening seamers shared 5 wickets between them, giving away 81 runs in the process. However, the second half of the Vidarbha innings clearly lacked resolve. Left arm spinner Diwakar Vasu scalped 2/7 of his 5 overs while off spinner SR Ganesh Kumar returned the flattering figures of 3/12.

Wickets falling at regular intervals meant that Vidarbha's response chasing 253 was a meek 128. Victory by 124 runs will mean all round celebrations in the Chemplast camp. The victory however, will be sweetest for centurion Dinesh Mongia.