While Ajinkya Rahane-led Mumbai are waiting for their opponent in Ranji Trophy 2023-24 final, the second semifinal between Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha is set for a blockbuster finish. Opener Yash Dubey's wicket late on Day 3 tilted the balance in Madhya Pradesh's favour as they need 93 more runs to win with four wickets in hand.
Rathod’s 141 helps Vidarbha set a challenging total
Starting Day 4 at 343/6, Rathod got to his century with a boundary off Avesh Khan's second delivery. He took 167 balls to reach the milestone. Against the new ball, Rathord looked to score quickly. He hit Kulkwant Khejroliya for three fours in an over. Anubhav Agarwal got the breakthrough with the wicket of Aditya Sarwate who scored 21 runs from 24 balls. In his next over, Agarwal struck twice to dismiss Yash Thakur and Umesh Yadav off consecutive deliveries.
Rathod looked to accelerate and smashed Agarwal for two sixes to get Vidarbha's score past 400. A couple of overs later, Khejroliya dismissed Rathod. He scored 141 runs from 200 balls including 18 fours and a couple of sixes. The 23-year-old’s knock helped Vidarbha set a target of 321 against Madya Pradesh.
Dubey leads run chase but late strike makes Vidarbha favourites
Dubey started the run chase with a boundary off Yadav. He hit another in the first over to assert dominance. The centurion of the first innings, Himanshu Mantri could not make an impact and lost his wicket to Sarwate in the sixth over. Dubey continued to bat aggressively. Harsh Gawli joined him as well with three consecutive boundaries off Thakur. Dubey took a backseat while Gawli completed his half-century from 54 balls. Thakur returned to break the partnership. He scored 67 runs from 80 balls including 11 fours.
In Thakur's next over, Dubey reached his half-century with a boundary. Sagar Solanki did not last long in the middle. He got out lbw to Akshay Wakhare. In his next over, Wakhare dismissed skipper Shubham Sharma for a single-digit score. Venkatesh Iyer looked to attack and smashed Wakhare for the first six of the innings. But Wakhare had the last laugh dismissing him in the 53rd over. After half the side was in the dressing room for 195, Saransh Jain endured Vidarbha bowlers. Dubey was nearing his century when Sarwate's late strike put Vidarbha in the driver's seat. Dubey departed after scoring 94 runs from 212 balls including 10 fours. At the end of Day 4's play, they were 228/6 with 93 more runs to win.
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