After a last-over finish on Day One, the Day Two of the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy was a rather drab affair at the Vidharbha Cricket Association ground, Jamtha, on Friday.
After a last-over finish on Day One, the Day Two of the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy was a rather drab affair at the Vidharbha Cricket Association ground, Jamtha, on Friday. S Badrinath-led India Reds humbled and Suresh Raina’s India Greens in a one-sided contest after a brilliant century from Tamil Nadu’s Murali Vijay.
Vijay (104), who failed to convert his good start into a big one on Thursday, looked hungry. He was perfect in his timing and placement. He was ably supported by Delhi’s Shikhar Dhawan (68). The duo put on 155 for the first wicket to give a solid foundation for the Reds’ chase for 224-run target.
Later, Vijay stitched together a 53-run partnership with skipper Badrinath for the second wicket, before being dismissed by Green’s Chetanya Nanda. Vijay’s knock was studded with 10 boundaries and a six. Reds overcame the target in style with Badrinath hitting Nanda over mid-wicket for a six. With this win the Reds top the table with five points, closely followed by Blues at four. On Saturday, the Greens take on Blues.
Vijay was cautious early on but once he got into the groove, there was no stopping him. He was effortless in his stroke-play and was not afraid to hop out of the crease. Green bowlers L Balaji, Dhawal Kulkarni and Siddharth Trivedi struggled to beat his bat. Vijay displayed some classy on and off drives that put the other batsmen to shame. Dhawan, at the other end, was at his aggressive best and played his shots freely.
Earlier, some discipline bowling from Reds and coupled with reckless batting by India Green, saw the latter post 223 for 7. Captain Suresh Raina was the biggest culprit, throwing away his wicket with bad shot selection. Barring Saurabh Tiwary (66) and S
Aniruddha (55), none of the other batsmen could leave a mark.
Seamer Munaf Patel was the most impressive with 3-57 while Ishant Sharma, who scalped four on the first game, went wicketless.
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