IMMEDIATELY after completing his century Vidarbha opener Faiz Fazal took a fresh guard and continued the way he started in the morning. There was hardly any animated celebration after his well-timed shot through mid-wicket raced to the fence assisting him complete a commanding century. It helped the hosts score 244 for two on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka.
A punch from his left fist followed by acknowledgment towards the pavilion, a handshake with partner and captain Shalabh Shrivastava (75*) and Fazal was back at crease.
Fazal, unbeaten on 139, became the first and only Vidarbha batsman to score two centuries in one Ranji season.
As the shadows lengthened, the opener suffered cramps which forced him play a bit defensive. That was bound to happen as the southpaw ran hard and picked runs from every Karnataka bowler. His well crafted unbeaten century gave Vidarbha a good start but they still need more to test the strong Karnataka batting line-up.
The 28-year-old left-handed Vidarbha opener was concentration personified. Hardly anything bothered him. Amidst the eerie silence in an empty 42,000 capacity Jamtha stadium, the only buzz was around Fazal with Karnataka players cheering their bowlers and fielders. However, that failed to disturb Fazal’s focus. He created his own surrounding where nothing mattered. Faiz had scored 44 runs when he saw his opening partner Akshay Kolhar (0) and Amol Ubarhande (18) back in hut cheaply. Still, Fazal continued with his sublime form. The century in the last game against Odisha helped him in building confidence, which the Karnataka bowlers failed to deter.
There were gentle flicks to the fine-leg boundary, a couple of backfoot punches through covers and square of the wicket, a dab between slips to frustrate Karnataka pacers. All of his boundaries, 21 so far in an unconquered innings, were gems and a treat to watch.
Karnataka bowlers, Abhimanyu Mithun and S Sharath hardly troubled Fazal as he picked runs quite easily from the seamers. An excellent wrist work off Mithun saw Fazal score his first boundary. As the game progressed, he hit some audacious cover drives too to pile agony on Karnataka.
With nothing to offer from wicket, even Karnataka spinners failed to get any assist. The ball came quite easily on bat and Fazal had ample time to go on backfoot and gather runs. He completed his half century off a backfoot punch through covers from a Mayank Agrawal delivery that raced to boundary. Fazal got an able ally in skipper Shrivastava who rotated the strike and helped the opener reduce pressure.
Shrivastava too showed his class with some exquisite cover drives after a shaky start.
He did not waste time and drove one from spinner Abrar Kazi to cover to mark his arrival. At the stroke of tea, the Vidarbha captain completed his half century from 137 balls with six fours.
The last session of the day again belonged to the hosts. Fazal and Shrivastava ruled the 22-yard strip demoralising Karnataka bowlers with their chanceless innings. They have added unbeaten 181 runs for the third wicket.
With both well settled and the wicket failing to help bowlers, Vidarbha would have to put up a mammoth total before they ask Karnataka
to bat.
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‘Need to bat throughout the day tomorrow’
n Principal Correspondent
VIDARBHA opener Faiz Fazal, who re-wrote a few records on the first day of their Ranji Trophy match against Karnataka, said their plan is now to bat whole day on Friday and put up a huge total.
Fazal became the first Vidarbha batsman to score seven centuries in Ranji Trophy overtaking the record from Yogesh Ghare who had five to his name. He also became the first Vidarbha batsman to score two centuries in one Ranji season. To add icing to the cake, Fazal also became the top scorer in this Ranji season with a total of 442 runs so far leaving behind Kerala’s Sanju Samson (420 runs) and Maharashtra’s Kedar Jadhav (415 runs). Talking after the day’s play, the opener said, “We would like to bat whole day tomorrow and put up a big score. The wicket is helping batsmen and there won’t be an outright result so we would like to bat whole day and score big.”
On his own form, the southpaw said that he was more determined this time than earlier. “Last year I squandered some great opportunities. But this time I was more determined to perform well. Playing in ‘V’ was very crucial for me and I tried to do the same today,” said Fazal who is unbeaten on 139.
The opener also praised his captain Shrivastava with whom he added unbeaten 181 runs for the third wicket. “It was because of Shalabh I managed to score century. He supported me very well and himself played brilliantly,” added Fazal.
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