Vidarbha the champions of U16 Vijay Merchant Trophy

Vidarbha emerges as champions of U-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy. They outclassed rivals Uttar Pradesh in a four-day game to claim the title. UP were handed a 171-run defeat as Vidarbha were up to the mark in all departments of the game.

After winning the toss and batting first, Vidarbha showed some resilience with the help of Sandesh Drugwar who scored a patient 98 off 214 deliveries. They lost their first wicket with just 21 on the board and in came Sandesh who paired up beautifully with Avesh Shaikh. The duo put on a firm 145-run partnership before the opener was dismissed for a well-played 78.

The Vidarbha skipper and Sandesh then put on a 61-run partnership after which the No.3 batsman was shown his way back to the pavilion. Vidarbha’s lower order only managed to score a mere 54 runs as they were bowled out for 310. UP’s bowlers had to work hard for their wickets. Subhashish Biswas stood out with a four-for; he also claimed the wicket of Avesh Shaikh (78). Vishal Thakur and Kartik Tyagi also picked up three wickets each and complemented each other well.

The Uttar Pradesh batting line-up was reduced to 59 for 2 as Dubey and Dattatraya picked up a wicket each. UP kept on losing wickets at regular intervals as no pair was able to stand at the crease. They were soon bowled out for 176 – Rohit Dattatraya dismissed five and Harsh Dubey settled for a four-for giving Vidarbha a massive 134-run head start.

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In the second knock, Vidarbha had a similar start from the first innings as they lost one of their opener with just 21 runs on the board. At No.3, came Sandesh Drugwar and played yet another good innings. This time he paired up with the other opener for a nerve-settling 43 run partnership before Aman Dehankar was sent back. Drugwar, then helped Vidarbha set a target of 332 runs for UP to chase. He scored a steady 83 of 187 deliveries.

UP were again off to a bad start as they lost two wickets with just 8 runs on the board. Dubey and Agrawal paired up for Vidarbha and reduced the batting side to 55 for five. Aryan Sharma and Vikas Sikarwar tried to fight back for UP but failed in their attempt as Sikarwar’s 47-run knock was halted by Mahale. Agrawal then took the matter into his own hands and wrapped up the game with 6 wickets to his name. Uttar Pradesh were bowled out for 160 and Vidarbha won the game by 171 runs.