Karnewar smashes ton to boost Vidarbha hopes

Nagpur, February 14 

Akshay Karnewar struck his maiden First Class century to hand Vidarbha a crucial 95-run first-innings lead before Rest of India, riding on a fighting partnership between Hanuma Vihari (40*) and Ajinkya Rahane (25*), erased the deficit in the Irani Cup here today. Vidarbha, who resumed on 245/6 today morning, ended their first innings at 425, thanks to Karnewar’s unbeaten 102 off 133 balls. The hosts had bowled out Rest for 330 in their first essay.

For Rest, first innings’ centurion Vihari came good again — he raised an unbeaten 56-run stand with skipper Rahane to help his side wipe off the deficit and finish the day at 102/2, a lead of seven runs. On a deteriorating wicket, Rests’ hopes of posting a fighting total rest largely on the Vihari-Rahane pair. If Vidarbha manage to separate the two quickly, they would fancy their chances of winning the Irani Cup. 

Karnewar thwarts Rest 

The day’s hero, however, was Karnewar, a left-arm spinner. Just 11 matches old in First Class cricket, Karnewar offered solid support to wicketkeeper Akshay Wadkar as the two resumed Vidarbha’s fightback in the morning. With Vidarbha needing 87 runs more to go past Rest’s 330, Wadkar, unbeaten on 50 last evening, raised a vital 79-run stand with Karnewar for the seventh wicket. And when he fell for a well-made 73, the hosts were still 24 short of their immediate target. Karnewar, however, remained unperturbed and anchored the innings well past the Rests’ total. In the process, he brought up his maiden First Class century, studded with 13 fours and two sixes. Seasoned off-spinner Akshay Wakhare (20) and pacer Rajneesh Gurbani (28*) too played handy knocks as the hosts extended their lead.

For ROI, Rahul Chahar (4/112) was the pick of the bowlers; Karnataka spinner K Gowtham (2/33), Saurashtra spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (2/111) and UP pacer Ankit Rajpoot (2/84) chipped in with two wickets each.

In their second essay, Rest openers Anmolpreet Singh (6) and Mayank Agarwal (27) fell cheaply. Vihari and Rahane, however, ensured there was no further damage. — PTI 

Brief Scores: Rest 330 and 102/2 (Hanuma Vihari 40*, Ajinkya Rahane 25*); Vidarbha 425 (Akshay Karnewar 102, Akshay Wadkar 73, Sanjay Ramaswamy 65; Rahul Chahar 4/112, K Gowtham 2/33).