Ranji Trophy 2024: Vidarbha spinner Aditya Sarwate bowls 53 dot balls in nine-over spell

The Ranji Trophy 2024 is currently in its Round Two, wherein Vidarbha is battling against Manipur in Ahmedabad. The match saw a unique feat being achieved by Vidarbha's left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate. On Day 1 of the contest, Sarwate bowled nine overs, or 54 balls, out of which 53 were dot. Throughout his spell, the spinner went on to bowl eight maiden overs, which is a unique feat in itself.

Interestingly, the only ball that he conceded a run on went for a six off Bikash Singh's bat. But Sarwate redeemed himself almost instantly by picking Bikash's wicket a few balls later. The game wasn't just about being a miser for the Vidarbha bowler, as he also took a four-wicket haul in the first innings on Day 1. This massively helped the team dismiss the opposition for a paltry total of 75 in the first innings.

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Meanwhile, Aditya Thakare also impressed with a brilliant five-wicket haul to make the Manipur batters dance to his own tunes. The pacer from Akola, Maharashtra dismissed Nitesh Sedai, Langlonyamba Meitan Keishangbam, Prafullomani Singh, Rex Rajkumar, and Lamabam Singh, and finished with 5/32 in 9.3 overs. Apart from Thakare and Sarwate, the remaining wicket was taken by experienced spinner Rajneesh Gurbani.

Spinning the ball, and swinging the blade ft. Aditya Sarwate

Coming in to bat, Sarwate unleashed his batting mode to bail Vidarbha out of trouble, after they lost wickets in quick succession. The Nagpur-born scored 69 off 82 balls, and became the only half-centurion in the side to help take the total to 230, courtesy of which the 2018 champions also advanced with a 155-run lead against Manipur, before getting bundled out on Day 2.

Currently, Manipur are struggling at 21/3 after 10 overs, and the star from first innings has already sent both the openers back in the hut. Thus, Aditya Sarwate's all-round show is proving to be the highlight for Vidarbha in the game, and the 34-year-old might just become the first player in the side to wear the recently announced Player of the Match medal, which was introduced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) yesterday.