Lunch: Vidarbha 312 and 126 for 6 (Satish 35, Kale 30*, Sarwate 5*, Jadeja 4-69) lead Saurashtra 307 by 131 runs
Vidarbha held a slight upper hand when play began on the fourth day in the Ranji Trophy 2018-19 final, but Saurashtra clawed back well courtesy their spinners, led by Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, and the advantage was very much on their side when the two teams went to lunch.
At the break, Vidarbha were 126 for six, 131 runs in front.
The day started with Ganesh Satish and Wasim Jaffer in the middle, the scoreboard reading 55 for two in the Vidarbha second innings – a lead of 60 runs. The aim was obviously to build on it, slow and steady, but Jadeja had other ideas.
Eighth over of the morning, Jadeja found Jaffer’s edge with one outside off that didn’t quite bounce as much as Jaffer might have expected, and substitute wicketkeeper Avi Barot pouched the catch. It was the big wicket, and Saurashtra had earned it early enough.
The scoreboard read 71 for three at that stage, and it was 73 for five in no time as Jadeja trapped Satish in front for 35 and Jaydev Unadkat got a full-pitched delivery to straighten and go past Akshay Wadkar‘s defensive prod and hit timber.
Vidarbha, the defending champions, needed a fightback, and they got a bit of it from Mohit Kale and Akshay Karnewar, the two adding 32 runs before Kamlesh Makvana caught Karnewar’s edge on the drive and Harvik Desai clung on at slip.
Kale, however, made his way to 30, and Aditya Sarwate was on five when the first session ended, and a long stand from them is exactly what Vidarbha need; Saurashtra need to make inroads quickly in the afternoon.