Madhya Pradesh pacer Avesh Khan has travelled with the Indian Test team for a few series but is yet to make his debut in the format. Last month, he was released to play Ranji Trophy and was later replaced by Akash Deep when the squad for the last three Tests of the five-match series against England was announced. After a few ordinary outings, Avesh dazzled in the Ranji Trophy semifinal against Vidarbha with a four-wicket haul to help his side bowl them out for 170 on Day 1.
Vidarbha skipper Akshay Wadkar won the toss and opted to bat first at his homeground. Avesh in his fourth over got through Dhruv Shorey's defense. He scored 13 runs from 12 balls. Atharva Taide pounced on opportunities to score boundaries. Keeping the green pitch and conditions in mind, MP skipper Shubham S Sharma did not introduce spinners. Taide's stay at the crease was ended by Venkatesh Iyer. He scored 39 runs from 63 balls.
Nair hits fifty amidst collapse
Karun Nair got off the mark with a boundary. Avesh returned to dismiss Aman Mokhade who wanted to block it out. Mokhade managed to score just 13 runs from 75 balls. In the second session, Iyer struck again to dismiss Yash Rathod who scored 17 runs from 27 balls. Meanwhile, Nair continued to find boundaries. Left-arm pacer Kulwant Khejroliya joined the party in the 39th over. Yash Dubey took an excellent catch at gully to send skipper Wadkar back to the dressing room for a single.
Aditya Sarwate hit a couple of fours off Avesh before falling to Anubhav Agarwal. In the next over, Avesh bowled an inswinger to dismiss Akshay Wakhare for a golden duck and one outswinger as Yash Thakur edged one to wicketkeeper Himanshu Mantri. Running out of partners, Nair focused on hitting boundaries. He reached his half-century from 79 balls.
Avesh’s double blow
After the tea break, Nair got bowled by Khejroliya. He scored 63 runs from 105 balls including nine fours. Kumar Kartikeya took the only wicket by a spinner in the innings. He dismissed Umesh Yadav for a 20-ball duck as Vidarbha got bowled out for 170 from 56.4 overs.
Cautious start for MP
MP openers got off to a cautious attack but Yadav got the breakthrough with the wicket of Dubey. The opener scored 11 runs from 22 balls. Mantri and Harsh Gawli remained unbeaten for 26 and 10 respectively. MP had 47/1 on the board at the end of Day 1's play with a trail of 123 runs.
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