Ranji Trophy 2018-19, Final, Day 1, Review: Saurashtra dominate Vidarbha, take early advantage

The day 1 of the Ranji Trophy 2018-19 was dominated by Saurashtra. They restricted Vidarbha to 200/7 in 90 overs and would be content with their performance, all the batsmen in the Vidarbha line-up got good starts. Most of them reached the 30s or the 40s but failed to convert those into big scores.

Not even a single batter was able to reach fifty and the effort from the Saurashtra bowlers has to be commended. They were relentless throughout and constantly searching for wickets. All the five bowlers who were handed the ball picked up at least one wicket to place their team in a commanding position.

Not easy to get big scores when batsmen don’t convert starts

Sanjay Ramaswamy, who has been in good form all through this season, fell cheaply after Vidarbha opted to bat first. A full delivery angled across the right-hander from Jaydev Unadkat found the edge as the batsman went after it with hard hands. The man at the first slip took a good low catch to send him back to the pavilion. Soon, skipper Faiz Fazal also fell due to reckless running between the wickets.

Wasim Jaffer looked good initially and was hitting the ball well. The veteran went fishing after a delivery on the shorter side from Unadkat and found the edge. With three of the best batsmen back in the pavilion even before lunch, Saurashtra was right on the top. But the next three batsmen in the played responsible innings and brought their side back into the hunt.

While Mohit Kale put on a hard-fought 35, Ganesh Satish looked good with his 32. Wicketkeeper-batsman Akshay Wadkar was the best of the lot with 45 runs. But only if at least one of these three men had converted their starts, Vidarbha would have been in a much better position. Bowling all-rounder Akshay Karnewar is still battling out there in the middle and is unbeaten on 31. Skipper Unadkat picked up two wickets while the remaining four bowlers accounted for one wicket each.

Brief Scores:

Vidarbha, 1st innings: 200/7 in 90 overs (Akshay Wadkar 45, Mohit Kale 35, Jaydev Unadkat 2/26)

Match Situation: Vidarbha won the toss and opt to bat first.

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