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Ranji Trophy 2023: Vidarbha bowls out Gujarat for 54 runs in 4th innings and wins the game by 18 runs

By Kshitij Ojha | Jan 19, 2023 | 2 Min Read

On Thursday (January 19), Vidarbha set a new Ranji Trophy record by defeating Gujarat while defending only 73 runs in the fourth innings. Aditya Sarwate, a left-arm off-spinner, stormed through Gujarat’s batting line, taking up six wickets, while Harsh Dubey dismissed three Gujarat batters. It was the lowest target successfully defended in Indian first-class cricket; the previous lowest was 78, defended by Bihar against Delhi in Jamshedpur in 1948-49. Jamtha is also the site of the first India-Australia Test, which begins on February 9. That game, though, will take place on one of the centre pitches, whereas this one took place on a side pitch. On Wednesday, another left-arm spinner, Siddharth Desai, took 6 for 74 to restrict Vidarbha to 254. Even though they were 6 for 1 at the moment, a Gujarat victory appeared to be a formality. Sarwate, on the other hand, had different plans. He ripped down Gujarat’s batting order again on Thursday after taking five wickets in the first innings.

Vidharbha batted first and had a disastrous start to the match. They were removed for 74 runs, while Gujarat had 256 runs on the board at the end of the first innings. Gujarat opener Aarya Desai (88) played some wonderful cricket and scored runs at a healthy clip, but the rest of the Gujarat batsmen failed to maintain going following his dismissal. Vidarbha demonstrated their quality in the second innings, scoring 254 runs to set a target of 73 runs for Gujarat. Jitesh Sharma was outstanding, scoring 69 off 53 deliveries to help the Akshay Wadkar-led side set the tone for the contest. Nachiket Bhute (42) batted at number nine and was also extremely impressive.

Sarwate was named Player of the Match after recording a career-high 11 for 81. Vidarbha is now tied for second place in Group D with Punjab after their latest victory. Punjab, on the other hand, is likely to take the only second slot after forcing a follow-on in their encounter against table-toppers Madhya Pradesh. Vidarbha’s final group round game is against Punjab, which might determine who advances to the knockout stages.