IN A nail-biting finish, Vidarbha went down to Gujarat by six runs in their last Elite Group B match of the U-19 Cooch Behar Trophy at Sardar Patel Stadium, Valsad on Thursday. Needing 222 runs to register an outright victory, opener Prathamesh Kumbhare anchored the chase and took Vidarbha to within sniffing distance of the finishing line. He made a brilliant 97 off 177 deliveries with 13 hits to the fence, but got very little support from the other end. Only Rajveer Jolly (41) and Himanshu Kawale (35) chipped in with useful scores.

 

Prathamesh lost his wicket while trying to get to his century. His was the ninth wicket to fall at the score of 211 and the last pair could not get Vidarbha across the line. Brief scores: Gujarat 1st innings 97 all out in 39.2 overs (Himanshu Kawale 5-36, Soham Deo 2-20, Yash Titre 2-5). Vidarbha 1st innings 150 all out in 59 overs (Malhar Dosi 28, Krishna Tiwari 24, Iknoor Singh 45 not out.; Rudra Patel 4-38, Daivik Shah 3-26). Gujarat 2nd innings 274 all out in 77.1 overs (Malay Shah 126; Himanshu Kawale 4-79, Yash Titre 3-59, Iknoor Singh 2-25). Vidarbha 2nd innings 215 all out in 71.5 overs (Prathamesh Kumbhare 97, Rajveer Jolly 41, Himanshu Kawale 35; Daivik Shah 4-39, Rudra Patel 3-60). Result: Vidarbha lost by 6 runs.