Rest of India fail to build on Hanuma, Mayank knocks
Mayank slams 95, Hanuma scores 114 but Vidarbha bowlers strike back to dismiss Rest for 330 on Day 1
NAGPUR: Hanuma Vihari scored 114 and Mayank Agarwal 95 as Rest of India were all out for 330 on Day 1 of the Irani Cup against Ranji Trophy champions Vidarbha in Nagpur on Tuesday.
Rest of India skipper Ajinkya Rahane had won the toss and elected to bat on a wicket that looked good for batting, at least till Agarwal was at the crease. But soon after the opener was gone, Rest’s batting collapsed.
From 171 for one at one stage, looking poised to put up a massive score, Rest of India managed to add just 159 more runs for the remaining nine wickets much to the delight of Vidarbha bowlers who really struggled in the first session, conceding 142 runs and bagging the lone wicket of opener Anmolpreet Singh who was dismissed by Rajneesh Gurbani in the ninth over of the day.
In contrast, the second session saw Vidarbha pick up four wickets conceding 92 runs as things started to look up for them once Agarwal perished in the 39th over of the day trying to drive one through cover. The ball appeared to slightly stop on him and he ended up giving a regulation catch to Gurbani.
Agarwal, who is back after making an impressive Test debut in Australia where he scored 76 and 42 in Melbourne and 77 in Sydney in India’s historic series victory, looked confident. His shot selection was impeccable and execution perfect till the ball he was dismissed.
The formidable Vidarbha attack, which had bagged 20 wickets against Saurashtra’s strong batting lineup in the Ranji Trophy final at the same venue, looked a shadow of itself as Agarwal hit 10 fours and three sixes in his 134-ball stay.
Vihari, who was the find of India’s tour of England last summer, was at the other end when their 125-run stand for the second wicket ended and he went into a shell. He got 114 runs with 11 fours and two sixes. His dogged five-hour stay at the wicket lasted 211 deliveries. This was his 15th first-class hundred.
Vidarbha’s Ranji Trophy final hero, left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate, then quickly got Vidarbha back in the match scalping Rest of India skipper Rahane for 13 and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja for 6. Rest of India went for tea at 234 for five and on resumption quickly lost K Gowtham.
Some late resistance by Rahul Chahar and Ankit Rajpoot took their total past the 300-run mark. It was the confidence Chahar showed with the bat that Vihari managed to hang on and get to three figures. The two added 49 for the eighth wicket, taking ROI past 300 before the partnership was broken by Sarwate.
Vidarbha’s opening bowler Yash Thakur, who bagged the prized wicket of Agarwal, also had Vihari caught behind with the batsman yet to get off the mark. But the appeal was turned down by the umpire. Replays however showed a faint outside edge but with no DRS available, Vihari went on to score a ton.