Vidarbha secured a thrilling 62-run victory over Madhya Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy semi-finals on Wednesday, March 6, setting up a final showdown with Mumbai, who had previously defeated Tamil Nadu by an innings and 70 runs on Monday. With this Vidarbha have made it to their third Ranji Trophy final. During the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons of the tournament, Vidarbha reached the finals and emerged victorious on both occasions, defeating Delhi and Saurashtra respectively. This marked the second instance where teams from the same state made it to the Ranji Trophy final.
MP fail in 321-run chase
In a tense final day chase of 321 runs for victory, Madhya Pradesh was bowled out for 258. Entering the last day needing 93 runs with only four wickets in hand, the contest was finely balanced. Yash Dubey’s crucial innings of 94 runs kept Madhya Pradesh in the hunt, but his dismissal late on Day 4 tipped the scales in Vidarbha's favor.
Akshay, Yash rip through Vidarbha's batting line-up
Starting the day at 228/6, Madhya Pradesh's Saransh Jain and Kumar Kartikeya were at the crease but managed to add only 30 more runs before the side was dismissed within the first hour of play, as the remaining batters fell without putting up significant resistance.
Kartikeya and Anubhav Agarwal were both dismissed without scoring, and Saransh Jain followed for 25 runs, leaving Kulwant Khejroliya as the last wicket to fall.
Despite valiant efforts from Dubey with 94 runs and Harsh Gawli with 67, Vidarbha’s bowlers closed out the game effectively. Akshay Wakhare and Yash Thakur each claimed three wickets, while Aditya Sarwate and Aditya Thakre took two wickets apiece, sealing the win for Vidarbha.
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