Taide’s Century Anchors Vidarbha on Day 1 of Irani Cup; Suthar, Akash Deep Shine with the Ball

Atharva Taide’s unbeaten century led a resilient Vidarbha fightback on the opening day of the Irani Cup clash against Rest of India at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur. At stumps on Day 1, Vidarbha stood at a solid 280 for 5, with Taide unbeaten on 118 and Yash Thakur keeping him company.

Taide was the cornerstone of Vidarbha’s innings, stitching together a massive 184-run stand for the fourth wicket with Yash Rathod (91), after an early wobble had left the team at 80 for 3. Rathod continued his rich vein of form from the Duleep Trophy, where he averaged over 124, but fell just shy of a century, miscuing a lofted shot off Manav Suthar in the 74th over.

Rest of India’s bowling effort was spearheaded by Rajasthan left-arm spinner Manav Suthar and pacer Akash Deep. Suthar, fresh off a match-winning eight-wicket haul against Australia A, struck twice in his very first over, removing Dhruv Shorey (18) and Danish Malewar in the 23rd over to jolt Vidarbha’s progress. He finished with figures of 3 for 64.

Akash Deep, returning to competitive cricket after India’s Test tour of England, provided key breakthroughs at both ends of the day. He dismissed opener Aman Mokhade for 19 early in the morning and returned late in the final session to remove Vidarbha captain Akshay Wadkar for 5. He bowled with accuracy and control throughout, conceding just 35 runs in his 14 overs.

The day had started positively for Vidarbha, with Mokhade and Taide seeing off the early spells before Akash Deep drew first blood. Taide, however, remained composed, growing into the innings and accelerating when needed. His assured footwork and sharp shot selection helped blunt a disciplined Rest of India attack.

Despite losing Rathod and Wadkar in quick succession in the final hour, Vidarbha will take confidence from their first-day performance, particularly Taide’s form. With the match regulations awarding the Irani Cup to the team with a first-innings lead in case of a draw, Vidarbha will aim to build a significant total on Day 2.

This is Vidarbha’s first appearance in the Irani Cup since their 2018–19 triumph, which they won on a first-innings lead — a scenario they’ll be hoping to repeat in Nagpur.