First innings lead give Baroda 3 points against Vidarbha

Vadodara: Hosts Baroda pocketed three valuable points by virtue of first innings lead after their second Ranji Trophy Group B match against Vidarbha ended in a tame draw here on Monday.

Baroda declared their first innings at 514 for seven in reply to Vidarbha`s 264 all out, thereby taking a vital lead of 250 runs in the first essay. In their second innings, Vidarbha rode on half centuries from opener Faiz Fazal and Shalabh Srivastava`s to finish at 218 for four off 83.3 overs before captains of both the sides decided to drew curtains to the dull affair. Fazal (98) played a patient knock but was unlucky to have missed out on a century by just two runs. He faced 255 balls and crafted his innings with 11 hits to the fence. Apart from Fazal, Srivastava utilised the opportunity to the fullest and got some much-needed batting practice ahead of their next Ranji fixture. He remained unbeaten on 65 that came off 156 balls with the help of eight fours. For Vidarbha, Firdaus Bhaja scalped up two wickets for 34 runs, while Murtuja Vahora (1/24) and Aditya Waghmode (1/15) picked up a wicket each. While Vidarbha pocketed three points, Vidarbha had to be satisfied with just one point from the tie. After two rounds of matches, Vidarbha is placed second in Group B with seven points (behind Delhi, who also have 7 points, on net runrate) while Baroda occupies the fourth sport with six points. Brief Scores: Vidarbha: 264 & 218 for four in 83.3 overs (Faiz Fazal 98, Shalabh Srivastava 65 not out; Firdaus Bhaja (2/34) Baroda: 514 for seven declared in 153.2 overs (Abhimanyu Chauhan 118, Rakesh Solanki 120; Sairaj Bahutule 3/82). PTI