Vidarbha successfully defended 73 against Gujarat in a Ranji Trophy 2022/23 match in Jamtha, Nagpur, setting a new record for first-class cricket on Indian soil. Gujarat had lost Priyesh Patel on the third evening while chasing 73 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, the site of India’s first Test against Australia, which begins next month.
They started the day at 6-1, lost Aarya Desai at 16, but were never in danger of losing at 26-2. In 20.2 overs, the last eight wickets fell for 28 runs against left-arm spinners Aditya Sarwate (6-17) and Harsh Dubey (3-11). The only Gujarat batter to survive was Siddharth Desai (18), who was run out. He was also the only one to break the double-digit barrier.
Gujarat scored 54, including 10 extras. Sarwate finished with 11-71 and Dubey with 5-38 in the match. Sarwate was named Player of the Match (he also contributed 17 runs to Vidarbha’s first-innings total of 74). After Vidarbha’s first-innings collapse against Gujarat seamers Chintan Gaja (5-31) and Tejas Patel (5-19), Akshay Wadkar’s decision to bat first was criticised. The criticism intensified after Aarya Desai (88) helped Gujarat build a 182-run lead.
By then, the pitch had begun to turn, and Desai took advantage of the conditions to take 6-74. Vidarbha appeared to be out of the race at 149-7, but Jitesh Sharma (69) and Nachiket Bhute (42) added 78 to keep them in the game. Bhute added another 25 for the final wicket with Yash Thakur (5*). Sarwate and Dubey took care of the rest.
The lowest total successfully defended in first-class cricket remains at 41. At the Lord’s Old Ground in 1794, Oldfield bowled out the MCC for 34 runs. Vidarbha also held the third-lowest total in the twenty-first century. In a Logan Cup match in Masvingo in 2012/13, the Southern Rocks defended 64 by bowling out the Mountaineers for 26 runs (Tinashe Panyangara took 4-4 and Tawanda Mupariwa 6-17).
