Ranji Trophy 2024: Umesh Yadav shines for Vidarbha against Saurashtra

Ranji Trophy 2024: Umesh Yadav becomes the star bowler for Vidarbha

Group A of the Ranji Trophy 2024 saw Vidarbha and Saurashtra take on each other on Friday, January 19, at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground in Nagpur. After winning the toss, Vidarbha captain Akshay Wadkar decided to bowl first. Harvik Desai and Kevin Jivrajani, the openers, gave the reigning champions a calm start with 63 runs contributed. At number three, Vishvaraj Jadeja stepped into the bat, but Umesh Yadav cut short his stint at the crease. Desai was removed for 68 by Cheteshwar Pujara, just as the two were about to establish a respectable partnership.

Saurashtra were knocked out for 206 after scoring 153/3. For Vidarbha, Umesh was the star of the show as he concluded with 4/56 in 16 overs. In addition to getting rid of Vishvaraj, Umesh also dismissed Sheldon Jackson, Arpit Vasavada, and Prerak Mankad.
The right-arm bowler has previously shown promise in previous Ranji Trophy editions. Before missing Vidarbha’s second match against Manipur, he took five wickets in the team’s opening match against Services. When bowling on Day 1, no bowler from Vidarbha went without a wicket. Aditya Thakare and Yash Thakur each contributed one wicket, while Aditya Sarwate and Harsh Dubey claimed two wickets apiece.

Pujara batted on Friday with the score at 87/2. In order to withstand a fierce spell from his old India colleague Umesh, he displayed tight technique. The 35-year-old made 43 runs before Thakare got rid of him.

On Day 1, Saurashtra recovered from a lacklustre batting performance by taking four wickets before Stumps. After 19 overs, Vidarbha is 26/4, 180 runs below Saurashtra’s first innings total.