Ranji Trophy 2018-19, Final, Day 4, Review: Vidarbha five wickets away from defending the title

The Ranji Trophy final will stretch into the fifth day with both Vidarbha and Saurashtra battling extremely hard. A result is definitely on the cards and seems to be in the favour of the home team at the moment. Vidarbha is just five wickets away from defending the title. With the pitch getting tough for the batsmen, it might just be a matter of time before the team would get their hands on the silverware.

Saurashtra still needs 148 runs to win the game. The team, for sure, will not throw away the opportunity of clinching the title for the first time ever. But, with half the side already back in the hut, it’d be a daunting task for them. The lower-order should put up a similar show as they did in the first innings if Saurashtra are to get anywhere close.

Aditya Sarwate’s all-round show eclipses Dharmendrasinh Jadeja’s 6-wicket haul

Vidarbha started the fourth day with an overnight score of 55/2. Ganesh Satish and Wasim Jaffer were the two men who remained unbeaten at the close of play on Day 3 and took the guard on the following day. However, Vidarbha batsmen couldn’t resist the brilliance of Dharmendrasinh Jadeja. The team was down from 71/2 to 73/5 within no time and sank further to 105/6.

However, Aditya Sarwate, the messiah for Vidarbha in this game, rose up to the occasion yet again. He added a crucial 49 runs. Contributions of 35 and 38 from Satish and Mohit Kale also came handy. The side was ultimately bowled out for 200 runs with a lead of 205 while Jadeja picked up six wickets in the innings.

Saurashtra had a terrible start to the chase. It was that man, Sarwate who shined with the ball in hand. Inability to deal him well turned out to be the chink in the armour of Saurashtra. He ran through three out of the top four batsmen including the prized scalp of Cheteshwar Pujara. Umesh Yadav and Akshay Wakhare picked up one wicket each as the chasing team ended the day with 58/5. They’ve still got a long way to go and Vidarbha will be eyeing to make the early inroads on the final day of play.

Brief Scores:

Vidarbha, 1st innings: 312/10 in 120.2 overs (Akshay Karnewar 73*, Akshay Wadkar 45; Jaydev Unadkat 3/54)

Saurashtra, 1st innings: 307/10 in 117 overs (Snell Patel 102, Jaydev Unadkat 46; Aditya Sarwate 5/98)

Vidarbha, 2nd innings: 200/10 in 92.5 overs (Aditya Sarwate 49, Mohit Kale 38; Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 6/96)

Saurashtra, 2nd innings: 58/5 in 28 overs (Vishvaraj Jadeja 23*, Snell Patel 12; Aditya Sarwate 3/13)

Match Situation: Saurashtra needs 148 runs to win the match.

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