That’s it from the Ekana Stadium! Both matches today went in favour of the chasing sides, who showed excellent game awareness and composure under pressure.
For now, this is Pritam Dey signing off along with scorer/analyst Asraj Khan as we brought all the actions of this clash. Stay tuned for more cricketing action from around the world. BYE BYE👋
Player of the Match: Yash Thakur
7:47 PM IST & Local Time: That's the end of the contest! Vidarbha complete a strong comeback to register their second win of the season. Kerala, meanwhile, were far from their best and slump to their second defeat of the tournament.
Earlier in the day, Vidarbha elected to bowl first and the move worked early as Kerala lost Sanju Samson for just 1 and Imran Ahammed for 3. Despite being 32/2 at one stage, Kerala steadied themselves and reached 54/2 by the end of the powerplay. Rohan Kunnummal and Vishnu Vinod then took charge, building a crucial partnership that shifted the momentum. Once set, both batters accelerated impressively, clearing the ropes with ease and bringing up well-deserved fifties.
The 77-run stand was eventually ended by Yash Thakur, who dismissed Kunnummal for a fluent 58 off 35 balls. Vishnu Vinod soon departed for 65, and from there Kerala crumbled, collapsing from 148/4 to 164 all out — losing six wickets for just 16 runs. Vidarbha staged a brilliant fightback, led by Yash Thakur’s outstanding spell of 5/16.
In reply, Vidarbha came out all guns blazing. Atharva Taide took the attack to the bowlers inside the powerplay, while Aman Mokhade played second fiddle at the other end. Mokhade didn’t see much of the strike, and the 48-run opening stand eventually came to an end when Sharafuddeen N M removed him for 8 off 7 balls.
Kerala struck twice in two balls to remove Dhruv Shorey (22) and the well-set Atharva Taide (54), sparking hopes of a comeback. But Shivam Deshmukh (29* off 18) and Varun Bisht (22* off 20) shut the door firmly with an unbeaten 53-run partnership, keeping their composure and guiding Vidarbha home without any trouble. Vidarbha win by 6 wickets with 9 balls to spare.
OVER 19
Vidarbha
165/4
Shivam Deshmukh
29(18)
Varun Bisht
22(20)
MD Nidheesh
1-30(3.3)
18.3 M Nidheesh to S Deshmukh
4 FOUR RUNS! Deshmukh hits the winning runs. Slower ball on a length around fourth stump. Deshmukh gets down on one knee and laps it down to the fine leg fence for a boundary. Vidarbha win by 6 wickets!
18.2 M Nidheesh to S Deshmukh
0 Yorker around middle and leg. Deshmukh backs away for room and digs it to mid on. Dot ball.
18.1 M Nidheesh to V Bisht
1 Over the wicket. Full around fifth stump. Bisht looks to play the expansive drive, gets a thick outside edge to short third man for a single.