Vidarbha may not be able to pull off the mammoth run chase but they are making Mumbai players toil hard at the Wankhede Stadium to lift the Ranji Trophy for the 42nd time. Half-centuries from Karun Nair and skipper Akshay Wadkar prevented Mumbai from registering a big win. Mumbai pace trio could not make an impact whereas all-rounder Musheer Khan and Tanush Kotian picked up two wickets each. With five wickets down, Vidarbha still need 290 runs to win and Wadkar was unbeaten for 56 in the middle.
Openers fail to convert good starts
Starting the Day 4 at 10 for no loss, openers Atharva Taide and Dhruv Shorey looked positive in their approach. Experienced Shams Mulani broke the opening partnership in the 19th over. Taide was dismissed lbw by Mulani. He departed after scoring 32 runs from 64 balls. Next over, Kotian got into the attack. The sharp spin bamboozled Shorey who got bowled after scoring 28 runs. No more wickets fell in the first session as Nair and Aman Mokhade played patiently.
Musheer – the partnership breaker
In the second session, Musheer broke the partnership. The arm-ball from the left-arm spinner hit the pad and even DRS could not save Mokhade. He scored 32 runs from 78 balls. In the same over, Nair was given out too but the DRS went in his favour. Nair and Yash Rathod tried to block it out. Kotian returned and got the better of Rathod with a flatter delivery on the off-stump. He got out lbw after scoring just seven runs. Skipper Wadkar got off to a positive start hitting Mulani for two fours. At the end of the second session, Vidarbha were 155/4.
Nair falls late in the day
Nair shrugged off the over-defensive approach and scored his fifty early into the third session. He took 174 deliveries to reach the milestone. Late into the day's play, Musheer was brought into the attack and he delivered with the wicket of Nair. He edged one to the wicketkeeper Hardik Tamore. The veteran Vidarbha batter scored 74 runs from 220 balls including three fours.
Wadkar reaches fifty in style
Wadkar got a little adventurous to reach his half-century. He played the uppercut for a six off Tushar Deshpande. He reached his fifty from 80 balls. Harsh Dubey hit a six off Musheer in the penultimate over of the day to show he won't just block it out. At the end of Day 4's play, Vidarbha were 248/5. It will take a miracle for Vidarbha to win the match on Day 5 with 290 more runs to chase down the target of 538.
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