NAGPUR: Mohd Faiz is known for his powerful shots, mostly played from the crease. The southpaw’s effortless hits have blown away many opponents before, but on Sunday, he paced his innings beautifully to save Vidarbha the blushes.
In the ongoing quarterfinal of Cooch Behar Trophy match, captain Faiz showed his reliable, mature and patient side. He stood like a wall when Vidarbha were in big trouble. He played 515 balls over 11+ hours, constructed a tenacious unbeaten double century and put Vidarbha on top against Maharashtra on Day-2 of the match on Sunday.
Faiz (229 n.o; 515b, 19×4, 2×6), who completed his 200 with a six over long-on, had the company of allrounder Dharmendra Thakur (111; 410b, 12×4) for 133.3 overs. They had joined hands when Vidarbha were 112 for 5 on Day-1.
They stitched a 274-run partnership from 805 balls for the sixth wicket and took their side to a position where they looked comfortably placed. Resuming at the overnight score of 237 for 5, Vidarbha reached 442 for 7 in 180 overs at stumps in Pune.
Even thinking of this total was improbable on Saturday, when Vidarbha were 50 for 1, then they were reduced to 112 for 5, before Faiz and Thakur joined hands in the first over of the post-lunch session. The No. 5 Faiz had taken guard in the ninth over of the innings, after he chose to bat.
Faiz, who was unbeaten on 120 on Day-1, added 109 runs to his overnight score, while Thakur batted more patiently and let Faiz do the majority of the scoring. Thakur completed his second century of the tournament and did exactly what was asked of him.
The remarkable aspect of this Faiz knock, which included 375 dot balls, is that he was out-of-form in the league stage. After several off days, the skipper was finally among the runs only in the last league game against Odisha, when he missed a ton by a run. It was a special knock because his form was going to be crucial in the knockouts.
Faiz, who put an extraordinary display of endurance by scoring 141 runs by running between the wickets, lived up to the expectations. He came up with an extraordinary innings that has bailed out Vidarbha, one of the title contenders.
BRIEF SCORES: Vidarbha (Overnight 237-5) 442/7 in 180 overs (Mohd. Faiz 229 n.o, Dharmendra Thakur 111; Prathamesh Gawade 3-111, Yash Borkar 2-75) vs Maharashtra
In the ongoing quarterfinal of Cooch Behar Trophy match, captain Faiz showed his reliable, mature and patient side. He stood like a wall when Vidarbha were in big trouble. He played 515 balls over 11+ hours, constructed a tenacious unbeaten double century and put Vidarbha on top against Maharashtra on Day-2 of the match on Sunday.
Faiz (229 n.o; 515b, 19×4, 2×6), who completed his 200 with a six over long-on, had the company of allrounder Dharmendra Thakur (111; 410b, 12×4) for 133.3 overs. They had joined hands when Vidarbha were 112 for 5 on Day-1.
They stitched a 274-run partnership from 805 balls for the sixth wicket and took their side to a position where they looked comfortably placed. Resuming at the overnight score of 237 for 5, Vidarbha reached 442 for 7 in 180 overs at stumps in Pune.
Even thinking of this total was improbable on Saturday, when Vidarbha were 50 for 1, then they were reduced to 112 for 5, before Faiz and Thakur joined hands in the first over of the post-lunch session. The No. 5 Faiz had taken guard in the ninth over of the innings, after he chose to bat.
Faiz, who was unbeaten on 120 on Day-1, added 109 runs to his overnight score, while Thakur batted more patiently and let Faiz do the majority of the scoring. Thakur completed his second century of the tournament and did exactly what was asked of him.
The remarkable aspect of this Faiz knock, which included 375 dot balls, is that he was out-of-form in the league stage. After several off days, the skipper was finally among the runs only in the last league game against Odisha, when he missed a ton by a run. It was a special knock because his form was going to be crucial in the knockouts.
Faiz, who put an extraordinary display of endurance by scoring 141 runs by running between the wickets, lived up to the expectations. He came up with an extraordinary innings that has bailed out Vidarbha, one of the title contenders.
BRIEF SCORES: Vidarbha (Overnight 237-5) 442/7 in 180 overs (Mohd. Faiz 229 n.o, Dharmendra Thakur 111; Prathamesh Gawade 3-111, Yash Borkar 2-75) vs Maharashtra