Parth rekhade4

Ranji Trophy: An unbroken 91-run partnership between Yash Rathod (59*) and Akshay Wadkar (31*) helped Vidarbha recover from a dramatic top-order collapse as they ended Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Mumbai at 147 for 4, extending their overall lead to 260 runs.

After being reduced to 56 for 4, Vidarbha looked in danger of squandering their first-innings advantage, but Rathod and Wadkar absorbed immense pressure to guide them to stumps unscathed. Their partnership came against a Mumbai attack that had its tail up, especially with spinners Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian exploiting a surface showing increasing signs of variable bounce and turn.

Earlier in the day, Mumbai’s fightback was led by wicketkeeper-batter Akash Anand, who displayed remarkable resilience with a hard-fought 106 off 256 balls. Resuming at 188 for 7, Mumbai’s hopes rested on Anand, and he delivered by forging a crucial 69-run stand with Tanush Kotian (33) for the eighth wicket.