Nair and Dubey propel Vidarbha to semi-finals clash against Mumbai

Vidarbha secured a dominant victory over Tamil Nadu in their recent match, with a final score of 353 and 272 against Tamil Nadu's 225 and 202. Nair contributed an excellent 122, followed by Malewar with 75 and Dubey with 69 in the first innings, while Rathod led the charge with 112 and Dubey with 64 in the second innings. Vijay was impressive with the ball, finishing with figures of 3 for 75 in the first innings, while Sai Kishore shone with 5 wickets for 78 runs in the second innings for Tamil Nadu. Thakare was also a standout performer for Vidarbha, taking 5 wickets for 34 runs in the first innings. Tamil Nadu's batting effort was led by Siddarth with 65 and Paul with 48 in the first innings, and Sonu Yadav with 57 and Paul with 53 in the second innings. However, they were unable to chase down the target set by Vidarbha, falling short by 198 runs. Bhute and Dubey were the pick of the bowlers for Vidarbha in the second innings, taking 3 wickets for 19 runs and 3 wickets for 40 runs respectively. Overall, it was a commanding performance by Vidarbha, showcasing their strength in both batting and bowling departments.

Harsh Dubey starred with bat and ball, while Karun Nair continued his glorious run from the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy as Vidarbha beat Tamil Nadu by 198 runs. Up next in the semi-finals are Mumbai, who they will host at home in Nagpur by virtue of progressing through to the knockouts as the team with most points in the group stages.

Dubey, the season's highest wicket-taker with 55 scalps coming into the game, added three more second-innings wickets on Tuesday, the fourth day of the quarter-finals, as Tamil Nadu were bowled out for 202 chasing 401. Long before he came on to bowl in the second innings, Dubey had already left his mark on the game, hitting two half-centuries, which also took him past the 400-run mark.

Yet for all those efforts, it was Nair who was named player of the match for his 122 that set up the game for Vidarbha on the first day. Nair, who topped the charts with 779 runs, including five centuries, in the 50-over competition, put together a vital 98-run stand with Danish Malewar as Vidarbha recovered from 44 for 3. He then put on 105 with Dubey to help give impetus to their innings as they made 353.

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Tamil Nadu responded with a shaky start, slumping to 38 for 4 courtesy a fine opening spell from seamer Aditya Thakare who finished with a five-for. Andre Siddarth and Pradosh Ranjan Paul briefly revived the innings, hitting 65 and 48 respectively, but TN conceded ground as they were bowled out for just 225.

Vidarbha's top-order floundered in the second innings, but the cushion of a 128-run lead worked to their advantage. Yash Rathod hit a superb 112 and formed a bulk of their 272 in Dubey's company; the two putting on 120 for the sixth wicket.

TN had more than five sessions to score the runs they needed to pull off a miracle, but kept losing wickets in a heap. They were reduced to 45 for 5 at one stage when seamer Nachiket Bhute ran through the top order. Paul and Sonu Yadav hit fifties but they were simply delaying the inevitable. B Sai Sudharsan, who made a comeback from a surgery for sports hernia, managed just 7 and 2 in his two innings.

Vidarbha have now won seven out of their eight games outright this season as they run into the defending champions Mumbai, who are fresh off a sensational win over Haryana in Kolkata.