Vidarbha entered the last eight stage of the National T20 Championship after beating Maharashtra by seven wickets in the first pre-quarterfinal of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in New Delhi on Tuesday. Opting to field at the Feroz Shah Kotla, Vidarbha restricted Maharashtra to 157/8 despite a quick 66 off 45 balls by Rahul Tripathi. He then chased down the target with 13 balls to spare with half-centuries from opener Atharva Taede (56 off 38 balls) and captain Akshay Wadkar (58 not out in 47 balls).
Maharashtra lost captain Naushad Shaikh (0), who was caught in front of the wicket by young right-arm pacer Yash Thakur (3/17) in the second over. Then Tripathi, who hit five fours and three sixes, took the innings forward with opener Yash Nahar (29) as the duo put on 64 runs for the second wicket.
But left-arm orthodox bowler Akshay Karnawar (2/25) brought Vidarbha back into contention by deflecting a well-set Nahar to leave Maharashtra at 77/2. Out-of-form Kedar Jadhav (6) became Karnawar’s second scalp as Maharashtra slipped to 91/3. The bowlers of Vidarbha continued to make inroads and did not allow the opposition batsmen to settle down.
Thanks to Tripathi’s innings, Maharashtra were reduced to 160 runs. Chasing 158 runs, Vidarbha lost opener Siddhesh Vath (0) in the first over. But Tide, who hit six fours and maximum sixes with skipper Wadkar, put Maharashtra out of the tournament with a match-winning 95-run partnership for the second wicket.
After the fall of the tide, the captain took it upon himself to complete the task with Jitesh Sharma (28 not out off 7 balls) hitting three consecutive sixes. Vidarbha, who advance from the Plate Group, will take on Rajasthan in the third quarter-finals at the Air Force Ground in Palam on November 18.
Brief Scores: Maharashtra lost to 157/8 (Rahul Tripathi 66, Yash Nahar 29; Yash Thakur 3/17, Akshay Karnavar 2/25) Vidarbha 160/3 (Akshay Wadkar 58 not out, Atharva Taede 56; Mukesh Chaudhary 1/24) by seven wickets.
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