 "Ranji Trophy: Avesh Khan's four-fer helps Madhya Pradesh seize control in semi-final against Vidarbha")
Nagpur: Avesh Khan-led Madhya Pradesh pace bowling unit hit right lengths on a pitch that offered enough carry to bowl out Vidarbha for a meagre 170 on Day 1 to gain control of their Ranji Trophy semi-final match in Nagpur on Saturday.
Avesh (4/49) was the pick of MP bowlers, while receiving good support from Kulwant Khejroliya (2/38) and Venkatesh Iyer (2/28).
Madhya Pradesh reached 47 for one in their first innings at close, and trail by 123 runs.
The VCA Stadium deck wore such fine green tinge as MP employed spin for just 2.4 overs in a total of 56.4 overs they bowled on the day.
Left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya, who dismissed last man Umesh Yadav, did the spinner’s duty for a brief period.
Other spinners in their ranks like offie Saransh Jain remained spectators of the proceedings.
Vidarbha’s feeble fight came through Karun Nair, who made 63 (105 balls, 9x4).
India pacer Avesh gave MP a fine start to the match when he uprooted the stumps of opener Dhruv Shorey (13).
Vidarbha lost wickets at regular intervals from that point and their biggest partnership was a 36 between Atharva Taide (39, 63b, 8x4) and Aman Mokhade (13, 75 balls) for the second wicket.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsIt came in almost 16 overs but the home side failed to capitalise on all the hard work.
Taide, who made a gritty hundred against Karnataka in the quarter-finals, snicked Iyer to stumper Himanshu Mantri who took a lovely tumbling catch behind the first slip.
It brought Karun, Vidarbha’s highest run-getter so far this season, to the middle and he played a fine innings filled with those typical drives and cuts.
But the right-hander did not find support from the other end as Avesh dismissed a stubborn Mokhade.
The hosts soon lost Yash Rathod, bowled by Iyer, and skipper Akshay Wadkar in the space of five runs to slip to 106 for five.
The catch Yash Dubey took at gully off pacer Khejroliya to oust Wadkar was a stunning one. He made a low-dive to his left to pouch a screamer as Wadkar tried to steer the ball from outside the off-stump.
Vidarbha’s hopes of reaching at least 200 was dashed when Karun dragged a Khejroliya delivery to his stumps while attempting a pull.
However, the Vidarbha bowlers were not as accurate as their MP counterparts as the visiting batters saw off the day without any alarm.
The lone jarring note was the dismissal of Dubey who feathered an edge off Umesh to Wadkar behind the stumps.
Brief Scores:
Vidarbha (1st Innings): 170 all out in 56.4 overs (Karun Nair 63, Atharva Taide 39; Avesh Khan 4/49, Kulwant Khejroliya 2/38, Venkatesh Iyer 2/28) vs Madhya Pradesh: 47/1 in 20 overs (Himanshu Mantri 26 batting, Harsh Gawli 10 batting).
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
