INDORE, Monday: Led by a superb all-round display, Vidarbha capped off their historic run in Ranji Trophy 2017-18 season with a crushing win over Delhi in the final at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Monday (January 1). The Faiz Fazal-led side beat Delhi by nine wickets to win their maiden Ranji Trophy title.
There were several players who stood out for Vidarbha at various stages in the final - in both batting and bowling. What began with debutant teenager Aditya Thakare striking a blow in the first over of the game, was followed by Rajneesh Gurbani's hat-trick on Day 2. While Faiz Fazal and Wasim Jaffer stroked crucial fifties to lay a solid platform for Vidarbha's response with the bat, it was a timely maiden first-class ton by Akshay Wadkar, ably supported by half-centuries from Aditya Sarwate and Siddesh Neral, which put Vidarbha in the driver's seat
Even as Vidarbha were in their maiden Ranji final, the youngsters in the side were ably guided by the experienced Wasim Jaffer, who had come into the game with eight Ranji titles to his credit. He was constantly communicating with the bowlers and batsmen and directed them at various stages in the game. He was even proactive in setting the fields. This was possibly the biggest difference between the two sides. Delhi were outclassed in experience, planning and application. One team had arrived for the occasion, the other hadn't.
Delhi 295 (Dhruv Shorey 145; Rajneesh Gurbani 6-59) and 280 (Nitish Rana 64; Akshay Wakhare 4-95)
Vidarbha 547 (Akshay Wadkar 133; Navdeep Saini 5-135) and 32-1.
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