KARUN Nair led from the front with a brilliant unbeaten 112 as Vidarbha made a winning start in the Vijay Hazare (One-Day) Trophy, beating J&K by six wickets in Vizianagaram on Monday. Chasing J&K’s tally of 221, Vidarbha lost openers Atharva Taide (9) and Dhruv Shorey (20) cheaply, but Nair, in his first match as captain, batted with authority and added 53 runs for the third wicket with Yash Rathod (22) before combining with Jitesh Sharma (43, 29b, 4x2, 6x4) to add 78 off 59 balls for the fourth wicket to set up Vidarbha’s victory.

 

Nair, who played 108 balls and hit 17 boundaries, saw his team past the finishing line in company of Shubham Dubey (15 not out) in 37.1 overs. Nair was adjudged the Player of the Match for his fine knock. Earlier, Vidarbha bowlers, led by Nachiket Bhute (3-33), Harsh Dubey (3-49) and Parth Rekhade (2-41) bowled out J&K for 221. Vivrant Sharma top-scored with 63 for J&K. BRIEF SCORES: J&K 221 all out in 44.2 overs (Vivrant Sharma 63, P Dogra 42, Auqib Nabi 45*; Nachiket Bhute 3-33, Harsh Dubey 3-49, Parth Rekhade 2-41). Vidarbha 225-4 in 37.1 overs (Karun Nair 112*, Dhruv Shorey 20, Yash Rathod 22, Jitesh Sharma 43). Result: Vidarbha won by six wickets.