Athley, Malewar hits double ton; Vidarbha amass 549 on day one

The day belonged to Vidarbha batters who completely dominated the rivals. While Athaley remained not out on 251 in 289 balls hitting 35 boundaries, Malewar smashed 262 in 204 balls with the help of 34 boundaries and eight sixes.

At stumps wicketkeeper-batsman Rohit Binkar was playing on three in the company of Athaley.

Earlier Manipur won the toss and elected to field first. Their decision backfired as Vidarbha went to on pile up a huge total. In the fifth over, Manipur got breakthrough when Mohammad Aqueeb Ahmed removed opener Tushar Suryavanshi (13) with 28 runs on board. Skipper Mohammad Faiz returned to the pavilion cheaply (5). Thus Vidarbha lost two wickets for 51 runs. But then it was all Athalay and Malewar show. They literally hammered the rivals bowlers and made 516 run partnership for the third wicket. While Athaley was cautious in his approach, Malewar was very aggressive. Manipur bowlers were literally clueless. They utilised as many as eight bowlers but of no use. In the process, both completed their doubles centuries. Finally, Lairenjam Singh broke the partnership dismissing Malewar but that was too late.

Brief scores

Vidarbha: 549 for 3 in 90 overs (Neel Athaley 251, Danish Malewar 262, Tushar Suryavanshi 13, Lairenjan Ansh Singh 2 for 89, Md Aqeel Ahmed 1 for 127)vs Manipur