Ranji Trophy | Vidarbha crowned champions for second consecutive time

Brief scores: Vidarbha 312 & 200 (Aditya Sarwate 49, Mohit Kale 38; Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 6-96, Kamlesh Makvana 2/51) defeated Saurashtra 307 & 127 (Vishvaraj Jadeja 52 ; Aditya Sarwate 6/59, Akshay Wakhare 3/37 ) by 78 runs.

The Ranji Trophy 2018-19 came to an end as Vidarbha went through the Saurashtra batting line-up comfortably in the first session of Day 5. After a successful outing last year, Vidarbha completed this year’s Ranji Trophy too, without a loss. Faiz Fazal was a proud captain after Vidarbha pulled off an excellent performance in the deteriorating surface after winning the toss and rightly opting to bat first.

Batting first, Vidarbha had scored a challenging total of 312 with contributions from almost everybody. Akshay Karnewar scored a brilliant 73* to help the host achieve a commendable score while Saurashtra captain Jaydev Unadkat picked three wickets.

In reply, Saurashtra put up a competitive performance with wicketkeeper-batsman Snell Patel scoring a century. Yet, Vidarbha managed to take a slender five-run lead as spinner Aditya Sarwate and Akshay Wakhare picked nine wickets amongst themselves.

The host batted with a purpose in the second innings scoring 200 and posted a target of 206 for Saurashtra in a slow track on Day 4. Aditya Sarwate also proved vital with the bat scoring 49 runs, before Vidarbha ended their innings to spin of Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (6 for 96).

Saurashtra was bowled out in the second innings for a low total of 127 runs as Aditya Sarvate wreaked havoc with the ball for the home side. Sarwate picked up six wickets in the second innings as Vidarbha defeated Saurashtra by 78 runs to lift the trophy at their home venue.