Harsh Dubey took 14 wickets for 90 runs, including a Vidarbha-record 9 for 53, as Vidarbha beat Madhya Pradesh by an innings and 20 runs in Nagpur. Parth Rekhade took 5 for 14 as MP folded for 105 on day three.
Nagpur, India: Vidarbha needed only three days to finish the job. Dubey, the left-arm spinner with an India cap already in his bag, bowled them to a first-innings lead on Monday and then helped bury Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday, with a day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match still in hand.
Dubey rips through the first innings
Madhya Pradesh chose to bat at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground and were bowled out for 209 in 66.1 overs. Nachiket Bhute removed Yash Dubey early. After that, Harsh Dubey took every remaining wicket, finishing with 9 for 53 from 23.1 overs, four of them maidens.
It was the best return by a Vidarbha bowler in the Ranji Trophy and the first nine-wicket haul in an innings for the state. The previous best was Arun Ogiral’s 8 for 39 against Madhya Pradesh in 1967-68. Atharva Mahajan offered the most resistance with 85, and Saransh Jain added 34 before Dubey ended the innings.
Wadkar and Bhute drag Vidarbha clear
The visitors’ bowlers hit back. Vidarbha slipped from 56 for 4 to 87 for 6 on day two, with Kumar Kartikeya and Saransh Jain, who finished with 3 for 106 and 3 for 77, doing most of the damage. Then Akshay Wadkar and Bhute turned the match with a 175-run seventh-wicket stand.
Wadkar made 100 off 212 balls with nine fours before retiring hurt. Bhute struck 97 off 111 balls, hitting six fours and five sixes. Vidarbha reached 334, a lead of 125, and Madhya Pradesh were 19 for 1 at stumps.
Rekhade and Dubey finish it
The second innings lasted 33.3 overs. Parth Rekhade took 5 for 14 from seven overs and Dubey added 5 for 37 from 11.3 as Madhya Pradesh were dismissed for 105. Saksham Purohit’s 34 off 53 balls was the highest score, and Shubham Sharma made 20.
Dubey’s match figures of 14 for 90 add to a strong season for a bowler who made his India ODI debut against Afghanistan in June. Vidarbha, who recovered from 26 for 6 to beat defending champions Jammu and Kashmir earlier this season, now have another dominant win to show for it. Dubey is also in the India A squad for the Rising Stars Asia Cup in Doha, which runs from November 19 to 29.
Result, Ranji Trophy Elite Group A, Nagpur: Vidarbha 334 (Akshay Wadkar 100, Nachiket Bhute 97; Kumar Kartikeya 3-106, Saransh Jain 3-77) beat Madhya Pradesh 209 (Atharva Mahajan 85; Harsh Dubey 9-53) and 105 (Harsh Dubey 5-37, Parth Rekhade 5-14) by an innings and 20 runs.
