Ganesh Satish celebrating after hitting runs in a Ranji match (File photo)
'Crisis man' Ganesh Satish slammed an unbeaten 146 to propel Vidarbha to 270 for 3 on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group G match against Maharashtra here on Thursday.
Opting to bat, Vidarbha lost their openers -- in-form skipper Faiz Fazal (14) and Sanjay Raghunath (3) -- cheaply, and were in spot of bother at 18 for 2.
Maharashtra's left-arm medium pacer Mukesh Choudhary (2/47) accounted for both the batters.
But then, one-down batter Atarva Taide (68) joined hands with Satish (146 not out off 282 balls) to not only resurrect the innings but also pummelled a pedestrian Maharashtra attack to submission.
While Satish, who was the more aggressive of the two, slammed 19 fours and a six, Taide hammered 10 fours in his 145-ball knock.
The duo conjured a crucial 177-run stand for the third wicket, which took the game away from their opponents at the Gurgaon cricket ground here.
However, when it looked like Taide, who is also having a purple patch in red-ball cricket, would score big, left-arm spinner Satyajeet Bachhav (1/68) dismissed the southpaw.
But that did not deter Satish from playing his shots, as he kept playing all around the park.
Wicket-keeper Akshay Wadkar (35 not out off 76 balls; 6x4) played the perfect second fiddle to Satish, as the two forged a 75-run stand for the unbroken fourth wicket.
All the Maharashtra bowlers -- Mukesh Choudhary, Pradeep Dadhe (0/69), Rahul Tripathi (0/11), Bachhav, Vicky Ostwal (0/53) and Azim Kazi (0/17) -- had an off day on the field.
Brief Scores:
Vidarbha: 270/3 (Ganesh Satish 146 batting, Atharva Taide 68, Mukesh Choudhary 2/47, Satyajeet Bachhav 1/68) versus Maharashtra.
At Rohtak: Assam: 265 (Riyan Parag 91, Subham Mandal 56, Karan Sharma 3/31, Aaqib Khan 3/39) versus Uttar Pradesh 10/0 (Madhav Kaushik 8 not out, Samarth Singh 2 retired hurt; Ranjit Mali 0/2).
UP trail by 255 runs.
- Reported by PTI
