Vidarbha lose seven wickets chasing 79 before beating Jammu & Kashmir in Srinagar

Vidarbha needed only 79 to beat the defending champions in Srinagar and lost seven wickets getting there, closing out their Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match on the third day

Vidarbha beat Jammu & Kashmir by three wickets at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium on Tuesday, reaching 81 for 7 in 22.5 overs in pursuit of a target of 79.

The chase was the only part of the match the defending champions had the better of. Bowled out for 123 in 39.2 overs in their second innings, J&K had left their bowlers almost nothing to work with, and still took seven wickets with it.

The match had been decided a day earlier by Ravikumar Samarth, whose 143 lifted Vidarbha from 74 for 5 to 305 and a first-innings lead of 45.

A target of 79 costs seven wickets

Vidarbha began the third day needing to finish off a J&K side that had resumed on 7 for 4. The innings lasted long enough to set a target rather than to threaten one.

What followed was the shortest innings of the match and the most awkward. Vidarbha were seven down by the time the 79 runs came, finishing on 81 for 7 inside 23 overs.

J&K's bowlers took seven of the ten wickets they needed, working with a total that left them no margin at all.

Samarth's 143 turns the first innings

Vidarbha had been 74 for 5 on the second morning, with Aman Mokhade, Dhruv Shorey, Danish Malewar, the debutant Mandar Mahale and the captain Akshay Wadkar all removed by pace.

Samarth batted through it for 143 from 202 balls with 17 fours and a six, his first century of the season and the 17th of his first-class career. He was caught behind by Rydham Sharma off the left-arm seamer Sunil Kumar.

His stand of 136 with Rajneesh Gurbani, who finished unbeaten on 64 from 104 balls with ten fours and a six, carried Vidarbha to 305 in 73 overs.

J&K's seamers shared the wickets without ever closing the innings down. Umar Nazir Mir took 4-56 and Sunil Kumar 4-73, with one each for Umran Malik and the spinner Abid Mushtaq.

Bhute's burst leaves J&K four down for seven

The 45-run deficit became a losing position inside five overs on the second evening. Nachiket Bhute and Praful Hinge opened the bowling and J&K were 7 for 4 at stumps.

Bhute's figures at that point were 3-6, with Yash Thakur taking the other wicket. Yawer Hassan, the nightwatchman Umran Malik and Lone Nasir were dismissed without scoring, and Kawalpreet Singh was bowled for four.

Qamran Iqbal and the captain Paras Dogra survived to the close on one apiece. The recovery to 123 on the third day was enough to make Vidarbha bat again, and no more than that.

Kawalpreet's 96 is the one innings J&K got right

Vidarbha had won the toss and chosen to field, and J&K lost both openers inside the first hour on Sunday before recovering to 260 in 82.5 overs.

Kawalpreet made 96, the highest score by a J&K batter in the match and the only substantial innings in either of their attempts.

Across the two innings the hosts faced 122.1 overs and scored 383 runs for the loss of 20 wickets.

A reshuffled J&K side beaten at home

J&K had made several changes for their second match of the season. Shubham Khajuria and Shubham Pundir were left out, with Yawer Hassan, Kawalpreet Singh and the wicketkeeper Rydham Sharma coming in.

The India seamer Umran Malik returned to add pace to the attack, Abid Mushtaq came back for the spin, and Umar Nazir replaced Auqib Nabi, who is leaving for New Zealand.

The rebuilt attack took 17 Vidarbha wickets over three days. The batting, dismissed for 260 and 123, was the half of the side that lost the match.

Scorecard: Jammu & Kashmir 260 (82.5 ov) and 123 (39.2 ov); Vidarbha 305 (73 ov) and 81 for 7 (22.5 ov). Vidarbha won by three wickets.

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