CHENNAI: Vidarbha are in a position of strength after a good outing on the second day against Tamil Nadu in their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal meeting in Nagpur.
After ending their first innings with a competitive total of 353, their bowlers rose to the occasion as Tamil Nadu were reeling at 159/6 in 46 overs at the end of day's play. Tamil Nadu are 194 runs behind and need a strong show on Day 3 to make the contest competitive.
Earlier, a valuable 69 by Harsh Dubey, batting at No 8, had bolstered Vidarbha's first innings total. Dubey shared a 95-run stand for the seventh wicket with centurion Karun Nair, who was eventually dismissed for 122.
Medium pacer Aditya Thakare (4/18) was later the tormentor-in-chief as he extracted good bounce from the surface to clean up the Tamil Nadu top-order. C Andre Siddarth was the only batter for Tamil Nadu who offered some resistance, scoring 65 off 89 balls. Tamil Nadu skipper R Sai Kishore and Pradosh Ranjan Paul were batting when stumps were drawn.
On Saturday evening, Karun Nair, while talking to this daily, had said that he was aware that Dubey could bat and was looking forward for a good stand on Sunday. Dubey's timely effort has certainly put Vidarbha in command.
"It was a fruitful day for us as things went as per our plan. We managed to put a decent total. The partnership with Karun bhai was vital. Tamil Nadu are a good side, so how much ever runs we put on the board was vital. I was happy to contribute,'' Dubey said after the day's play. "I did not try anything big. Just played to the merit of the ball and was keen to give support to Karun bhai," he added.
The wicket on Sunday had something for the medium pacers and this was exploited by the Vidarbha pace attack.
Aditya bowled tidy line and length to probe the Tamil Nadu batters and was suitably rewarded. Tamil Nadu top order caved into some disciplined bowling as they were caught in two minds whether to play their natural game or be defensive. B Sai Sudharsan, coming back after an injury, perished early, clearly short of match practice.
"There was a bit of assistance for the medium pacers and our bowlers did their job well. They bowled in the right areas and exploited the conditions well," assessed Dubey.
When Andre joined Vijay Shankar, Tamil Nadu were 38 for 4. Andre played positively and was looking to score a run off every ball. Vijay decided to play anchor and ensured that no wicket fell at the other end. After the pair added 95 runs, Vijay perished. His dismissal seemed to have affected Andre's concentration as he fell soon after. "Andre was in good touch and I tried to bowl a lot stump to stump in order to curtail stroke play. I did not try anything special, just bowled in the right areas and was waiting for him (Andre) to commit a mistake," said Dubey, who bagged the prized wicket of Andre.
"The wicket still looks good and on Monday, our bowlers will try to continue the good job and put pressure on the Tamil Nadu batters and try to get a good lead," signed off Dubey.