Nagpur, Feb 17 (IANS): Half-centuries by Dhruv Shorey and Danish Malewar provided Vidarbha with a strong foundation on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy semifinal against defending champions Mumbai at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium here on Monday.

However, despite promising starts by a few batters, Vidarbha missed the chance to fully capitalise, ending the day at 308/5 in 88 overs. At stumps, Yash Rathod, the team’s leading run-scorer this season, was unbeaten on 47, while captain Akshay Wadkar remained not out on 13.

The duo safely negotiated the last hour after the set pair of Karun Nair and Malewar fell in quick succession, handing Mumbai a small opening. With bowling all-rounder Harsh Dubey, who scored twin fifties in the quarterfinal, still to come, Vidarbha will hope to push towards the 400-run mark — something they failed to do in last year’s final, which ultimately cost them the title.

Winning the toss and opting to bat at the VCA Stadium, Vidarbha looked to make the most of the familiar conditions in only their second match at this venue this season. Their previous outing in Nagpur, a high-scoring draw against Gujarat in November, hinted at the importance of a strong first innings total.

After safely seeing off the early bursts from Shardul Thakur and Mohit Avasthi, Vidarbha suffered their first setback when Royston Dias, fresh from a five-wicket haul in the quarterfinal, struck with just his second ball. A sharp lifter caught Atharva Taide (4) in two minds, and his hesitant attempt to pull away resulted in a glove-through to wicketkeeper Akash Anand.

Shorey then took charge, unfurling a series of elegant cover drives and well-timed cuts to stabilise the innings. He was joined by Parth Rekhade, a relative newcomer playing just his second first-class match, as Vidarbha opted for an extra batter instead of off-spinner Akshay Wakhare. The duo added 54 before all-rounder Shivam Dube broke through, dismissing Rekhade for 23.

Shorey and Malewar then built on the foundation, adding another 51 runs. However, Mumbai’s spinners soon found their rhythm. Left-arm spinner Shams Mulani provided the breakthrough, inducing an edge from Shorey (74), which deflected off Ajinkya Rahane at slip before settling in the hands of the wicketkeeper.

At No. 5, Karun Nair arrived with the confidence of two centuries in two games and immediately took charge. Facing off-spinner Tanush Kotian, Nair played a series of well-controlled sweeps and reverse sweeps to disrupt the spinner’s rhythm. Meanwhile, Malewar, in sublime touch, brought up his fifth first-class half-century.

However, just when the pair seemed in control, Nair fell for 45, chasing a harmless delivery from Dube to give the all-rounder his second wicket. Malewar, too, missed out on a potential century, feathering an edge to the wicketkeeper off Mulani just when he looked set for a big score on 79. With momentum shifting, Rathod and Wadkar dug in, ensuring Vidarbha ended the day in a position of relative strength. Their unbroken 47-run stand in the final hour steadied the innings, leaving Vidarbha in a good position despite some missed opportunities.

Brief scores:

Vidarbha 308/5 in 88 overs (Danish Malewar 79, Dhruv Shorey 74; Shivam Dube 2-35, Shams Mulani 2-44) against Mumbai