HAZARE TROPHY | Shorey’s second consecutive ton sets up Vidharbha’s big win over Hyderabad

Dhruv Shorey’s second century on the trot helped Vidarbha overcome Hyderabad by 89 runs in its Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025 Group B encounter at the Sanosara Cricket Ground ‘B’ here on Friday.

Shorey (109 n.o., 77b, 9×4, 6×6) paced his innings to perfection, taking time to dig his feet in before accelerating at the death to guide Vidarbha to 365 for five after being asked to bat. A concerted bowling effort, led by captain Harsh Dubey’s three-for, helped bowl Hyderabad out for 276.

The platform was set by openers Aman Mokhade (82, 78b, 7×4, 3×6) and Yash Rathod (68, 82b, 6×4), who played out the initial few overs carefully on a pitch with good bounce and carry.

With the field spreading at the onset of spin, the two batters jogged their way to a century partnership in 17 overs. Nitin Yadav broke the 148-run association with Mokhade’s wicket. Rathod too perished five overs later.

Shorey brought out the slog-sweep to pick boundaries against spin, but the innings truly gathered steam at the back end with the return of pace.

Shorey and R. Samarth (63, 46b, 6×4, 1×6) were adept at putting away the short, slower balls to the fence in their 140-run stand in just 95 balls. Harsh and Nachiket Bhute connected a few lusty blows at the end to take the team past 350.

In reply, Hyderabad started brightly. Despite losing Tanmay Agarwal for 21, the team managed to keep the runs ticking at a fair clip. Abhirath Reddy (43, 44b, 8×4) made use of the field restrictions in the first PowerPlay, finding gaps with his controlled pull shots.

Vidarbha gained ascendancy once he was dismissed. Varun Goud (85, 68b, 4×4, 4×6) held fort at one end before being stumped while looking to throw the kitchen sink. For the second match in a row, the lower order failed to stitch up anything of note, although the writing was well on the wall by then.

Meanwhile, Bengal suffered a four-wicket loss at the hands of Baroda. Raj Limbani’s five-for helped skittle the side for 205 before the Baroda top order ensured there were no hiccups in the chase.