Vidarbha on verge of outright victory

Resuming on 297/5, Vidarbha went on to pile up 614 runs in their first innings. Danish Malewar, unbeaten on 110 overnight, could only add 12 runs to his tally before being dismissed. His partner Jagjot Sasan, however, batted freely and raced to his century in the company of Neel Athaley (63). The duo added 134 runs for the sixth wicket before Jagjot fell for 164 (191 balls 4x15, 6x3).

Tejas Soni (25) and Gaurav Farde (39) helped themselves to five boundaries apiece as Bihar bowlers toiled.

Needing 315 runs to make Vidarbha bat again, Bihar openers made a cautious start, but once Mandar Mahale provided the initial breakthrough, the floodgates opened. Bihar lost five more wickets and were 76/6 at close of play, still needing 239 runs to avoid an innings defeat.

Skipper Mahale picked up four wickets for 15 runs, while Gaurav Farde scalped two.

BRIEF SCORES

Bihar 1st innings: 299 all out in 114.5 overs (Akash Raj 150 not out, Suraj Kashyap 52; Praful Hinge 4/61, Pravin Rokdea 3/62, Tejas Soni 2/64)

Vidarbha 1st innings: 614 in 126.1 overs (Mandar Mahale 122, Danish Malewar 139, Jagjot Sasan 164, Neel Athaley 63, Gaurav Farde 39; Aditya Raj 5/160)

Bihar 2nd innings: 79/6 in 31 overs (Mandar Mahale 4/15, Gaurav Farde 2/6)

Match situation: Vidarbha need 4 wickets for outright victory