Irani Cup Day 1: Wasim Jaffer's 53rd first-class ton and R.Ashwin's leg spin steals the show

Veteran batsman Wasim Jaffer’s superb century on the first day of the Irani Cup match between Vidarbha and Rest of India at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur was the highlight of the day on Wednesday.

Vidarbha finished the first day on 289 for 2 with Jaffer (113*) and Ganesh Satish (29*) present on the crease. Vidarbha’s innings was started magnificently by captain Faiz Fazal (89) and Sanjay Ramaswamy (53) when they added 101 for the opening stand.

After opting to bat first, Fazal and Ramaswamy made complete use of the good batting conditions and started steadily. Their good form was one of the major factors in Vidarbha’s Ranji Trophy winning run. The pair contributed with three 100+ partnerships during Ranji Trophy with 264 runs stand being their best.

With three spinners in their archery, Rest of India finished 39 Overs before lunch. But, Vidarbha were the stronger team with their scoreboard displaying 126 for 1 by the lunch break.

After the break, Fazal and Jaffer continued to mount pressure on RoI. Fazal was rock solid, whereas Jaffer started positively. Good footwork against the spinners, classic-Jaffer flicks, it was coming all together for the former Indian batsmen. Soon, he became the second player to score six successive half-centuries in the Irani Cup after Gundappa Vishwanath.

After Fazal got out, it was Ganesh who joined the party with Jaffer. But it was Jaffer whose excellent shot selection and impeccable timing stole the show.

RoI believed that they had got Satish out after he flicked a Nadeem delivery straight to mid-wicket, only to be called back by the umpire as Nadeem had overstepped.

 “Really good to see Wasim Jaffer score another 100 with so much ease. It’s also great to see him so committed even at this stage of his career,” Laxman tweeted.

Really good to see Wasim Jaffer score another 💯 with so much ease. Its also great to see him so committed even at this stage of his career. #inspiration

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) March 14, 2018

Jaffer, who has played 31 Tests for India, scoring 1944 runs, has over 17,000 runs in 214 first-class matches with a triple ton to his name in his nearly 17-year-long cricketing career.