After testing victory in opener, Vidarbha falter

Nagpur, Oct 12

After testing victory the previous day, Vidarbha faced a crushing nine-wicket defeat at the hands of Rajasthan in Syed Mushtaq AliTrophy T-20 match at Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium in Rajkot on Wednesday.

Poor batting show was the main reason behind Vidarbha's heavy defeatl. Rajasthan won the toss and elected to field first. Vidarbha lost their wickets at the regular intervals and were restricted to 136 for nine in 20 overs. Vidarbha suffered an early blow when opener Siiddhesh Wath was dismissed on duck with just eight runs on board in the second over.Then Atharva Taide (43, 24b, 5x4, 3x6 ) and young Aman Mokhade (35, 30b, 1x5,2x6) played aggressively and stitched up 41 run partnership for the second wicket. When Taide was going great guns Chahar caught him off Choudhary with 49 runs on board. Captain Akshay Wadkar who was mainly instrumental in Vidarbha's victory against Rajasthan scored 14 in 17 balls hitting two boundaries. Dangerous Jitesh Sharma scored 12-ball 14 before he was trapped by Kamlesh Nagarkoti in front of stumps. Apoorva Wankhede (13) got good start but failed to convert it into a big knock. For Rajasthan, Choudhary 4 for 37 was the wrecker-in-chief and he was ably supported by Rahul Chahar (3 for 26) and Kamlesh Nagarkoti ( 2 for 18).

In reply, Rajasthan easily achieved the target losing just one wicket. Openers Y Kothari (53, 42b, 8x4) and captain Ashok Menaria (77, 49b, 5x4, 4x6) punished Vidarbha bowlers and ensured big victory. Vidarbha bowlers Yash Thakur (2-0-23-1), Akshay Wakhare (2-0-35-0)and Aman Mokhade (2-0-26-0) proved very expensive.

Brief Scores

Vidarbha: 136 for 9 in 20 overs (Atharva Taide 43, Aman Mokhade 35, Akshay Wadkar and Jitesh Sharma 14 each, A Choudhary 4 for 37, Rahul Chahar 3 for 35, Kamlesh Nagarkoti (2 for 18).

lost to Rajasthan: 137 for 1 in 20 overs (YB Kothari 53, Ashok Menaria 77).