RANJI TROPHY 2017-18

Vidarbha's path to Ranji Trophy glory

by Cricbuzz Staff • Last updated on

Vidarbha clinched the trophy in their maiden appearance in the summit clash © BCCL

A maiden appearance in the Ranji Trophy final after ending Karnataka's juggernaut, Vidarbha were on cloud nine. But the question being asked was: would they showcase the same kind of spirit that had taken them thus far in the competition, in the final against Delhi? They did that and wrapped up the game inside four days with a nine-wicket victory to lift the coveted trophy. Below is a brief look at how they achieved the ultimate glory.

Playing their opening Group D game against Punjab at the PCA stadium in Mohali, Vidarbha set the tone for their campaign with a huge victory. A collective effort from the bowlers ensured Punjab were skittled for only 161 in their first innings. In reply, Vidarbha were in a spot of bother at 129 for 3 when Sanjay Ramaswamy and Ganesh Satish got together. They ensured that the bowling performance was adequately backed up as they raised a 178-run partnership to lay the platform for a hefty total. While Ramaswamy fell after a knock of 161, Satish batted well with the lower order to score 164 which helped Vidarbha post 505. Akshay Karnewar and Akshay Wakhare then made short work of Punjab's second innings, picking up 10 wickets between them to bowl the hosts out for 227 in the second innings, resulting in Vidarbha's victory by an innings and 117 runs.

Brief scores: Punjab 161 (Abhishek Gupta 89; Lalit M Yadav 3-47, Siddesh Neral 3-48) & 227 (Manan Vohra 51; Abhishek Sharma 49; Akshay Karnewar 6-47, Akshay Wakhare 4-83) lost to Vidarbha 505 (Ganesh Satish 164, Sanjay Ramaswamy 161; Abhishek Sharma 4-136) by an innings & 117 runs.

Man of the match: Ganesh Satish

Amandeep Khare's double century and Ashutosh Singh's 113 helped Chhattisgarh post a total of 489 after being asked to bat by Vidarbha at the VCA stadium in Nagpur. Having been reduced to 19 for 2, Khare and Ashutosh collaborated for a 227-run partnership that helped Chhattisgarh overcome their initial jitters. While Vidarbha fought back with quick wickets, Chhattisgarh regained supremacy in the see-saw battle with a 105-run sixth wicket stand as they finished with just under 500. Faiz Fazal's 125 led Vidarbha's reply but the hosts lacked a big innings from other batsmen, with several getting starts and but not converting them into a substantial contribution. Vidarbha ended up conceding the first-innings lead after being restricted to 435. They then came up with a good effort with the ball in their second innings, reducing Chhattisgarh to 195 for 9. But with no time left to force a result, they had to be satisfied with a single point from the game.

Brief scores: Chhattisgarh 489 (Amandeep Khare 210, Ashutosh Singh 113; Umesh Yadav 3-87) & 195/9 (Jatin Saxena 75; Akshay Karnewar 3-43) drew with Vidarbha 435 (Faiz Fazal 125; Karn Sharma 52*; Sumit Ruikar 4-98).

Man of the match: Amandeep Khare

Faiz Fazal's second successive ton and Akshay Wakhare's five-wicket hauls in both innings set up Vidarbha's 192-run win against Services at the VCA stadium. Opting to bat, Fazal and Sanjay Ramaswamy provided a solid platform with a 148-run opening stand. Services, though, came back well by picking up wickets at regular intervals to check Vidarbha's progress. But Ganesh Satish's knock of 78 ensured that the good work up front did not go to waste, helping Vidarbha finish with 385. Services then came up with a good reply, riding on half-centuries from Nakul Verma, Gahlaut Singh and Vikas Yadav. But Wakhare's perseverance with the ball paid dividends as he bagged a five-wicket haul, having bowled 36 overs for that, to bowl Services out for 317. With a 68-run lead, Vidarbha went about their second innings in a brisk manner, focusing on adding quick runs as they declared at 223 for 6 after 43 overs. Wakhare and Karn Sharma then ran through the batting order of Services, nipping the opposition out for 99 to seal a big win.

Brief scores: Vidarbha 385 (Faiz Fazal 136, Ganesh Satish 78; Nitin Tanwar 2-44) & 223/6 decl. (Akshay Karnewar 48, Faiz Fazal 46; Vikas Yadav 2-39) beat Services 317 (Nakul Verma 71, Gahlaut Singh 63; Akshay Wakhare 5-87) & 99 (Gahlaut Singh 33; Akshay Wakhare 5-16) by 192 runs.

Man of the match: Akshay Wakhare

Faiz Fazal led from the front and finished as the second highest run-getter in the 2017-18 edition with 912 runs ©BCCL

With another thoroughly dominating performance, Vidarbha continued their impressive run in the Ranji Trophy with a 10-wicket mauling of Bengal in Kalyani. Faiz Fazal and Sanjay Ramaswamy were at the forefront of Vidarbha's batting might again, with both notching up centuries in a opening wicket association worth 259 runs. No. 7 batsman Aditya Sarwate came up with a useful contribution down the order, scoring a 93-ball 89 to help Vidarbha finish one short of 500. This was followed by a collective bowling effort as Bengal were bowled out for 207 despite half-centuries from Koushik Ghosh and Manoj Tiwary. Akshay Wakhare led the show with a three-wicket haul and was well supported by Lalit Yadav, Rajneesh Gurbani and Sarwate. Asked to follow in, Bengal came up with a slightly better effort with the bat in their second innings. Wriddhiman Saha and Sudip Chatterjee scored 97 and 82 respectively to power Bengal's fightback. But the lack of a three-figure score and Vidarbha pegging away the hosts ended up being bowled out for 306, with Lalit and Sarwate sharing seven wickets between them. Needing only 15 for victory, Vidarbha got over the line with ease, doing so without losing any wickets to bag their second bonus-point victory.

Brief scores: Vidarbha 499 (Sanjay Ramaswamy 182, Faiz Fazal 142; Ishan Porel 4-139) & 18/0 (Sanjay Ramaswamy 16*) beat Bengal 207 (Manoj Tiwary 50, Koushik Ghosh 50; Akshay Wakhare 3-45, Aditya Sarwate 2-27) & 306 f/o (Wriddhiman Saha 97, Sudip Chatterjee 82; Lalit Yadav 4-54, Aditya Sarwate 3-59) by 10 wickets.

Man of the match: Sanjay Ramaswamy

While Sanjay Ramaswamy and Faiz Fazal missed three-figure scores in the game at the Goa Cricket Association Academy Ground in Porvorim, Wasim Jaffer and Ganesh Satish made use of the opportunity to get amongst the runs while Akshay Wakhare extended his good run with the ball in a clinical innings victory against Goa. Wakhare's four-wicket haul in the first innings and Aditya Sarwate's three brought a quick end to Goa's innings as they were bowled out for 239. Fazal and Ramaswamy then got off to good starts but the former fell for 32. Ramaswamy helped raise a 117-run stand with Jaffer before departing 13 short of what would have been his third ton. Satish then partnered Jaffer and both registered centuries as Vidarbha declared after crossing 400. Goa's second innings effort with the bat was a lot worse than their first as they were bundled out for 151, with only No. 8 batsman Snehal Kauthankar showing some resistance with a 101-ball 56. Wakhare led the wicket-taking charts again, bagging his second five-wicket haul of the tournament to extend Vidarbha's dominance with yet another bonus-point victory.

Brief scores: Goa 239 (Keenan Vaz 72; Akshay Wakhare 4-50, Aditya Sarwate 3-54) & 151 (Snehal Kauthankar 56; Akshay Wakhare 5-54, Lalit Yadav 2-16) lost to Vidarbha 427/3 decl. (Wasim Jaffer 158*, Ganesh Satish 101*; Amogh Desai 1-22) by an innings & 37 runs.

Vidarbha comfortably finished the group stage as the table toppers following another impressive performance. This time, it wasn't enough for them to go on and win the contest as Nikhil Gangta stood in their way with an unbeaten century in the second innings. Rajneesh Gurbani, who would go on to play a massive role in the knockouts, showed glimpses of his prowess in the first innings with six wickets. Faiz Fazal and Sanjay Ramaswamy once again stood tall with a 264-run partnership with the skipper notching a double but Vidarbha still fetched only a 97-run first-innings lead. Aditya Sarwate did his best to force a win for his side but Himachal Pradesh were able to withstand the assault to finish their campaign with a draw.

Brief scores: Himachal Pradesh 353 (Rishi Dhawan 71, Akash Vashist 69; Rajneesh Gurbani 6-113) and 323/8 (Nikhil Gangta 101* Sumeet Verma 59; Aditya Sarwate 6-75) drew with Vidarbha 456 (Faiz Fazal 206, Sanjay Ramaswamy 115; Rishi Dhawan 4-96)

Man of the match: Faiz Fazal

Rajneesh Gurbani created a tremendous impact in the knockouts, finishing as the second highest wicket-taker with 39 scalps in six games ©BCCL

What happens when two unfancied teams meet each other with a semifinal spot at stake? They went toe-to-toe in the first innings with Vidarbha fetching a 70-run lead but in the second essay, only one team turned up. Vidarbha imposed themselves on Kerala as Faiz Fazal made up for his first-innings failure with a well-crafted ton. Apoorv Wankhade struck a blistering ton to take the game beyond Kerala's reach as Vidarbha completed a massive 412-run win. Rajneesh Gurbani picked up a five-wicket haul in the first innings whereas Aditya Sarwate nipped out six in the second innings.

Brief scores: Vidarbha 246 (Akshay Vinod Wadkar 53; KC Akshay 5-66) & 507/9d (Faiz Fazal 119; KC Akshay 4-118) beat Kerala 176 (Jalaj Saxena 40; Rajneesh Gurbani 5-38) & 165 (Salman Nizar 64; Aditya Sarwate 6-41) by 412 runs

Man of the match: Rajneesh Gurbani

If anything, the dream run was expected to end right here. Despite their unbeaten run, Vidarbha were not fancied to topple Karnataka, who themselves were on a roll this season. And when Abhimanyu Mithun skittled them out for just 185, victory seemed like a formality for the former champions. Gurbani bowled well to pick up another five-wicket haul but Karun Nair's epic century helped Karnataka fetch a 116-run lead. Vidarbha's in-form top order faltered for the second time in the game but Karnataka's very own Ganesh Satish stood tall to haunt his former side. He added some crucial runs alongside the lower middle order to give his side a fighting chance. A target of 198 was definitely not threatening enough but when Karnataka were reduced to 40 for 3 in the chase, Vidarbha's hopes had risen. Gurbani kept striking at regular intervals to dent Karnataka and at one stage, they needed 57 to win with just two wickets in hand. The contest that went back and forth witnessed another twist with Mithun and Shreyas Gopal adding 48 for the ninth wicket. But Gurbani came back to remove the final two wickets to pull off a monumental heist as Vidarbha reached the final following a narrow five-run win.

Brief scores: Vidarbha 185 (Wasim Jaffer 39; Abhimanyu Mithun 5-45) and 313 (Ganesh Satish 81, Aditya Sarwate 55; Vinay Kumar 3-71) beat Karnataka 301 (Karun Nair 153, CM Gautam 73; Rajneesh Gurbani 5-94) and 192 (Vinay Kumar 36, Abhimanyu Mithun 33; Rajneesh Gurbani 7-68) by 5 runs

Man of the match:Rajneesh Gurbani

No player has managed to create an impact in the knockout phase of this Ranji Trophy as much as Rajneesh Gurbani managed to do. He made headlines once again after his heroics against Karnataka and this time, a hat-trick was an added incentive as his six-wicket haul helped Vidarbha bowl out the seven-time champions Delhi for 295 in the first innings in the final. Veterans Faiz Fazal and Wasim Jaffer scored crucial half-centuries in response but it was Akshay Wadkar's patient century that hurt Delhi the most. To rub salt into their wounds, lower-order batsmen Aditya Sarwate and Siddesh Neral scored crisp half-centuries to bat Delhi out of the contest. A 252-run deficit was always going to be tough for any side to topple in a final and all Delhi managed to do was avoid an innings defeat.

Brief scores: Delhi 295 (Dhruv Shorey 145; Rajneesh Gurbani 6-59) and 280 (Nitish Rana 64; Akshay Wakhare 4-95) lost to Vidarbha 547 (Akshay Wadkar 133; Navdeep Saini 5-135) and 32/1 by 9 wickets.

Man of the match: Rajneesh Gurbani

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