The opening day of Ranji Trophy match between Vidarbha and Railways at VCA’s Jamtha Stadium in Nagpur saw two skippers shining with bat and ball
Nagpur: Vidarbha Captain Faiz Fazal stood tall amid ruins as he slammed a respectable century even as Railways’ Skipper Karn Sharma bowled one of the best spells of his career on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy opener at VCA’s Jamtha Stadium in Nagpur on Tuesday.
Gold Rate
Saturday 01 March 2025
Fazal hit 112 for Vidarbha while former Vidarbha player Karn Sharma (8-38) made his opponents dance to his tunes to give Railways a slight edge. Vidarbha, thanks to left-handed Fazal’s 21st Ranji century for his home state, managed to post 213 runs in the first innings. Fazal’s hundred also brought up his 8,000 runs (8095) in Ranji Trophy. Fazal has also scored a ton for Railways (in Ranji) and in Irani Trophy.
In reply, Railways were 22-1 from 6.1 overs with the lone wicket falling on the first ball of the last over of the day. Fazal was a mute spectator as he saw wickets fall in the heap from the other end. Vidarbha started well as Fazal and R Sanjay managed to see off the first hour. But the right handed opener was trapped in front by debutant Adarsh Singh in the 13th over. Atharv Taide (43) and Fazal then stitched a beautiful 112 runs partnership.
Both took their time and punished bad deliveries as Vidarbha took lunch at 89 for 1. Fazal was middling the ball well. In the 15th over he hit a boundary off Singh through point region. There were some elegant cover drives as well which invited applause from all including his family members sitting in the stands, as they always do. Fazal got a reprieve on the first delivery after lunch when wicketkeeper Upendra Yadav dropped a sharp catch off Shivam Chaudhary.
But Taide’s fall in the 53rd over broke the 112 runs partnership which changed the complexion of the game. From 150 for two in the 53rd over, it became 165 for six in the 60th over. Fazal was left stranded in the 80s as he witnessed the unthinkable from the non-striker’s end. It seemed that he won’t be able to complete his century but in came Akshay Wakhare who gave the best possible support to his captain. Wakhare played 59 deliveries, scored just three runs, but helped Fazal complete his 23rd First-Class century.
As for Sharma, he bowled on the mark and spun well. Apart from Taide, Akshay Wadkar, Wakhare, Fazal and Aditya Thakre were trapped in front. Ganesh Satish, Aditya Sarwate and Rajneesh Gurbani edged and were caught in slips. Even though Sharma was all over, the umpire’s decision on Apoorv Wankhade and Fazal’s wickets were debatable.
With the wicket turning and ball keeping low from the city end, Vidarbha started with spinners Aditya Sarwate and Wakhare. Fazal tried to bring in Yash Thakur from pavilion end at the fag end of the day but with the light fading, umpires denied the permission. However, that helped Vidarbha in taking an early wicket. Fazal asked Sarwate to bowl the last over and the left arm spinner struck on the first delivery which ended the day’s play then and there. Shivam Chaudhary tried to clear the long off boundary but could not clear the inner circle as Aditya Thakre collected an easy catch.
