Irani Cup Day 2: Rest of India get the upper hand against Vidarbha

Brief Score: Vidarbha (245/6 in 90 overs) vs Rest of India (330-all out). Wadkar 50*; Karnewar 15*; D. Jadeja 2/66, Rajpoot 1/27

Vidarbha reached 245 for 6 against Rest of India at stumps on the second day of the Irani Cup in Nagpur. Sanjay Raghunath (65) and Ganesh Satish (48) produced solid batting efforts for Vidarbha, who now trail RoI by 85 runs.

On Tuesday, Rest of India were bowled out for 330 after a steling hundred from Hanuma Vihari and a classy 95 from Mayank Agarwal. Aditya Sarwate's three-wicket haul ensured Vidarbha did not near 400 in their first innings.

In what was a rivetting day of cricket on Day 2 of the Irani Cup, Rest of India started well with the ball when K Gowtham snared Vidarbha skipper Faiz Fazal in the 21st over. Atharwa Taide fell for 15 but Sanay's half-century helped RoI steady the innings, Satish played a good knock before Vidarbha slipped to 168 for 5.

At that stage, Rest of India were eyeing a hefty first innings lead. With their batting stars back in the pavillion, Vidarbha were in a spot of bother before Akshay Wadkar led a stern resistance. He had good support from Aditya Sarwate as the duo frustrated Rest of India's strong bowling attack.

Ankit Rajpoot pegged Vidarbha back further when he removed Sarwate towards the end of day's play.

For RoI, Gowtham and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja were the stars with two wickets apiece. Jadeja, who plays for Saurashtra had taken a six-wicket haul in the second innings of the Ranji Trophy final against Vidarbha - a few days later, he was back to haunt the Ranji champions with his left-arm spin.

By the end of the second day, the match was wide open. Wadkar and Sarwate were gutsy and stubborn. The first hour of the third day would be crucial for both teams.

While Rest of India would look to make a few early inroads, Vidarbha will be determined to get as close as possible to RoI's first-innings lead.