Sarwate inspires Vidarbha to 2nd successive Ranji Trophy title

Left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate starred with the ball to help defending champions Vidarbha retain their Ranji Trophy title by thrashing Saurashtra by 78 runs in the summit clash here on Thursday. Sarwate emerged the hero of the 85th Ranji title clash after the left-armer scalped 11 wickets and scored 49 vital runs but more importantly negated the threat of India Test star Cheteshwar Pujara, dismissing him in both innings.

Off-spinner Akshay Wakhare provided the perfect support, claiming seven wickets in the match. Chasing a target of 206, Saurashtra folded up for 127, with Sarwate emerging the wrecker-in-chief, bagging six wickets in his 24 overs in the second innings. He had picked up 5/98 in the first innings.

Brief Scores: Vidarbha: 312 and 200 beat Saurashtra: 307 and 127 all out in 58.4 overs (Vishvaraj Jadeja 52; Aditya Sarwate 6/59) by 78 runs.