Vidarbha win by an innings as Dubey and Rekhade take five each

Vidarbha win honours in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group A meeting with Madhya Pradesh went to the hosts on Wednesday, as Harsh Dubey and Parth Rekhade bowled them to an innings-and-20-run victory in Nagpur. The match at VCA Jamtha Stadium ended on its third day.

The two left-arm spinners claimed five wickets each in Madhya Pradesh's second innings. Dubey returned five for 37, while Rekhade finished with five for 14 as the visitors were dismissed for 105 in 33.3 overs.

Madhya Pradesh had made 209 in their first innings before Vidarbha replied with 334. That left the visitors needing 125 in their second effort merely to make the hosts bat again.

Spin pair turn the opening session

Saksham Purohit and Atharva Mahajan initially got through the seam bowling during the first hour. Dubey, leading in place of Akshay Wadkar, then introduced himself and dismissed Purohit leg-before for 34.

Mahajan and Shubham Sharma added 29 before the innings rapidly fell apart. Mahajan was out leg-before attempting a sweep, and Sharma was caught by Danish Malewar off Dubey.

Rajat Patidar followed without scoring when Dubey bowled him. Madhya Pradesh tried moving the left-handed Saransh Jain up the order, but Rekhade dismissed him leg-before as he offered no shot.

Arshad Khan then returned a catch to Rekhade, part of a sequence in which four wickets fell without a run being added across seven deliveries. Rekhade subsequently removed Kumar Kartikeya and Avesh Khan to complete his five-wicket return.

Dubey ended the match by bowling Chanchal Rathore, completing the Vidarbha win two hours and 15 minutes into the day's play. The bowlers' combined haul ensured Madhya Pradesh could not recover from their first-innings deficit.

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