A FRUITFUL day was spoiled by Two Tragedies. First, Vidarbha’s bowling all-rounder Nachiket Bhute missed a deserving maiden Ranji Trophy century by three runs and then Vidarbha captain Akshay Wadkar was stretchered to hospital immediately after he struck his second hundred of the season. It would have been a joyful end to the day’s play with Vidarbha taking the crucial first innings lead and then taking Madhya Pradesh’s wicket at the fag end of the day. But the mood looked a bit sombre in Vidarbha camp due to the two unwanted incidents. Vidarbha’s most successful captain Wadkar rose to the occasion once again and, along with bowling all-rounder Bhute, took the hosts to a strong position against Madhya Pradesh on the second day of their Elite Group ‘A’ Ranji Trophy match at VCA’s Jamtha Stadium on Tuesday. Wadkar (100*) scored his 13th First-Class hundred while the lanky Bhute missed his own but not before helping Vidarbha take the crucial first inning lead. Vidarbha, resuming at 56-4, scored 334, taking 125 runs first innings. At stumps, Madhya Pradesh were 19 for one wicket, trailing by 106 runs. Harsh Dubey took a brilliant diving catch to see Yash Dubey’s back off Parth Rekhade in the first over of MP’s second innings. Wadkar pulled his muscle while dragging his bat across the line to complete his century off a cheeky single. He fell on the ground and looked in immense pain. Unable to stand and walk, he had to be stretchered out and was taken to the hospital for scans and X-rays.

 

Table toppers Vidarbha were in a precarious situation on the second morning. They lost overnight batter Dhruv Shorey (32) and then Harsh Dubey (12) in quick successions. But Wadkar, who was on nine runs on Day One, and Bhute (97) played responsible innings under pressure and added 175 runs for the seventh wicket to put Vidarbha back in control. Wadkar’s century had nine balls to the fence which included some crisp boundaries through covers. Bhute, who got three reprieves in his innings, was inching towards his maiden century. However, he got caught in ‘nervous 90s’ as he nicked one back to wicketkeeper Saksham Purohit off Arshad Khan bringing an end to a fabulous innings. It was only because of Bhute’s attacking game that helped Vidarbha ease the pressure. He completed his half century from just 56 deliveries and then hit some huge sixes, five in total, during his 183-minute stay in the middle with Wadkar. It was the 7th wicket partnership between captain Wadkar and Bhute which took Vidarbha’s total past Madhya Pradesh’s first innings score. Wadkar, who had scored an unbeaten 63 against Goa in their last match at the same venue, lowered his guard when the team was down in dumps. He once again played a captain’s knock digging in deep. Madhya Pradesh bowlers failed to break the Wadkar-Bhute partnership and as frustration crept in, their spinner Kumar Kartikeya started bowling negative line. But Wadkar was equal to the task as he negotiated those leg side deliveries, padding them away with ease. With two righthanded batters in the middle, southpaw Saransh Jain was under bowled before lunch as he got only four overs in the first session. While Wadkar’s innings was chanceless, Bhute was saved by three lives. He was dropped when he was on nine runs by Yash Dubey and then on 62 by MP captain Rajat Patidar. A few overs later wicketkeeper Purohit missed a stumping chance when the batter stepped out missing the line.