Underdogs Baroda have Rest teetering

nagpur: a reaction from a slip fielder said it all. baroda had a golden opportunity to capitalise on two close decisions which went in their favour. but satyajit parab could not hold on to vvs laxman's rasping pull at mid-wicket off left-arm spinner valmick buch. the aforementioned fieldsman was in the air when the ball was travelling to parab. and when both the ball and his feet touched the grass, disappointment was difficult to hide. laxman, the rest of india skipper (unbeaten 26), goes on to play a match-winning knock on the last day of the irani trophy at the vidarbha cricket association (vca) here on wednesday, this moment is going to haunt the ranji champions. needing 273 to win, at stumps, rest of india were 60 for three with first innings centurion dinesh mongia (6) giving laxman company. they need 213 more. after laxman's missed opportunity, test discard hrishikesh kanitkar had to face another questionable decision, adjudged caught behind as the tv replays showed that the ball had only touched his pad. earlier, openers vinayak mane and akash chopra had also ended on the wrong end of the dreaded finger during an eventful last session on tuesday. baroda had a fair share of luck in the season-opener being witnessed by the national selectors (test team for south africa is to be selected on october 22). luck favours the brave, goes the adage. and the west zone outfit, far weaker on paper than their fancied opponents, fought well throughout this match.resuming on 179 for four, baroda's second essay ended on 285, almost at the stroke of tea when tinu yohannan broke irfan pathan junior's leg stump into two. junior scored a fighting 32 (46b, 61m, 4x4s) and seems to revel in challenging situations. off-spinner sarandeep singh again finished with the maximum wickets for rest (three for 75), doing his comeback chances a world of good. he got the crucial wicket of nayan mongia (52, 165b, 210m, 7x4s). the 'keeper was snapped brilliantly by mane at extra-cover, who took a low catch without much fuss. after trailing in the first innings, baroda had no option but to go for the kill. and they did that effectively in the first session, scoring at a good pace. but laxman's ploy to bring in part time off-spinner kanitkar worked. parab tried to cut a wide delivery as keeper ratra took a difficult reflex catch. southpaw tushar arothe (22) lived dangerously and gave a simple catch to kanitkar at gully off seamer debasis mohanty. thereafter, wickets fell at regular intervals until himanshu jadhav and irfan junior added 40 runs for the ninth wicket. the outcome of the match hangs on the laxman-dinesh alliance. they have added 14 runs for the fourth wicket. the former looks in sublime touch taking 24 of his 26 runs in boundaries. his battle with buch on the morrow should be exciting as a spinner of this ilk has posed the hyderabadi a lot of problems, something the aussies missed during the kolkata test. if baroda manages an encore, this time, we will have to doff our hats in appreciation.