Ranji Trophy semifinal | Vidarbha takes command; inches closer to win over Madhya Pradesh

Vidarbha on the brink of Ranji Trophy final after crucial wicket of Yash Dubey; Madhya Pradesh faces uphill battle.

Vidarbha took command of their Ranji Trophy semifinal with the key wicket of Yash Dubey (94) late on day four as they inched closer to a thrilling victory over Madhya Pradesh in Nagpur on March 5.

Heading into the final day on March 6, hosts Vidarbha are a mere four wickets away from setting up a date in the summit clash with Mumbai, while Madhya Pradesh, who still need 93 runs to win, will hope their tailenders can produce an inspired fightback.

The game tilted in favour of hosts Vidarbha in the penultimate over of the day when Aditya Sarwate (2/51) had Dubey caught by Aman Mokhade, dealing a body blow to Madhya Pradesh’s hopes of making it to their second final in three years.

Chasing 321 to win, Madhya Pradesh reached 228 for six at stumps on the fourth day with their last recognised batter in Saransh Jain (16 not out) joined by Kumar Kartikeya, requiring a huge effort with the bat with not much left in the tank.

To his credit, Dubey battled hard for Madhya Pradesh with a fine knock even as wickets kept tumbling at the other end. The right-handed batter showed grit and composure in a tough chase with a long haul, consuming 212 balls to get his 94 runs with 10 fours.

Dubey forged a crucial 106-run stand for the second wicket with Harsh Gawali (67 from 80 balls, 11x4s), but once the pair was separated, Vidarbha kept making regular inroads to leave Madhya Pradesh in trouble.

Madhya Pradesh lost the first-innings' centurion Himanshu Mantri for a mere eight in the second essay, but it was the failure of their middle-order trio of Sagar Solanki (12), Shubham Sharma (6) and Venkatesh Iyer (19) which hurt the visitors the most.