Vidarbha’s crisis man Akshay Wadkar bails them out yet again

There were signs that he would get to it on the previous days too. Finally, Iqbal Siddiqui gave in on the third afternoon, shedding his lunch break routine of devouring chicken and broccoli. Out came the genial match referee in his tracks and spikes at the KL Saini Stadium, rolling his arm over on the practice strips alongside a bunch of Rajasthan’s Ranji Trophy reserve bowlers.After a few deliveries from leisurely hops to the crease, the one-time Test cricketer decided to crank up his effort. The burly former Maharashtra quick, who memorably opened the batting and bowling on debut against England, began to mark his run-up around as far as what it probably was on his debut in Mohali in 2001.
For a small group of Rajasthan fans who were perhaps stubbed to silence the sight of attrition from Vidarbha captain Akshay Wadkar (100*) and Yash Rathod, Siddiqui’s pleasant high-arm action and ‘run’ down memory lane made the afternoon.
As Siddiqui eventually sat down to have a fill of the delicious laal maas he had anticipated since Day 1, Wadkar and Rathod dished out their staple Vidarbha resance in the middle. After night-watcher Akshay Thakare’s assuring 88-ball stay helped Rathod see through the morning, the latter was at ease when Vidarbha’s crisis man walked in at No. 7. Wadkar and Rathod patiently shored up the lead towards 150 with a 203-ball 94 association.
Though the southpaw Rathod fell two short of his fourth century of the season, Wadkar kept the fight open throughout.
Wadkar’s defences are not copybook but acutely suited to blunt spin on a surface where all six of the bats above him were either bowled or leg-before. With his conspicuously elongated forward stride, Wadkar waded and dead-batted past the Rajasthan’s four-man attack of seam and spin, and his counterpart Mahipal Lomror’s attacking prances with the field.
Eight years after his First-Class debut, Wadkar remains rooted in the same method; unflinching and hardly stepping away from the questions posed to the middle-order. Wadkar’s immaculate temperament and prolific record notwithstanding, the 30-year-old has never really threatened to break past the domestic ceiling.
“Sometimes being too nice a person also does not work in your favour,” a respected voice at the venue said analysing the Vidarbha batter’s journey during the first innings where he was primed for a good score.
Maybe that holds against Wadkar, even after piling on over 3500 First-Class runs with a 50-plus average – the only active Indian wicket-keeper to achieve the mark at home. Integral to Vidarbha’s trophy cabinet, Wadkar has also stepped up with two centuries in three Ranji Trophy final appearances.
While he has been a consent figure in the Duleep Trophy set-ups over the last few seasons, Wadkar has not realised game time in the tournament since 2020, competing with more glamorous names from across the country. He understands why the selectors may have skipped past him but remains honest in impressing his love for the lower-order heavy-duty, shepherding the tail.
“There is no place up to the order. Yash Rathod is playing well at 5 and Karun (Nair) is at 4. My place is No. 6 only. It would be great if I can play higher up, but when playing with the tail, I feel more comfortable,” he says.
Batting in the lower order deprives Wadkar of the ‘daddy’ tons. However, he can weave out match-saving, long-haul counters as he did on Saturday, propelling Vidarbha to a 258-run lead stumps after their overnight top-order collapse and a 100-run first-innings deficit.
Honest to a fault about his shortcomings, the Nagpur batter remains level-headed about a spot on the Test circuit. “When I got chances (before 2020), I played 5-6 Duleep Trophy matches and could not score much. I realised that the selectors were expecting higher scores around 150-170 back then. But I am very confident I will do something good this year,” he tells The Indian Express.
Spotlessly covering the left-arm angles of spinners Manav Suthar and Ajay Kukna, the bespectacled Wadkar patiently waited for the erring lengths to cut and flick occasionally. He ran a steady diet of singles to complement No. 9 Nachiket Bhute’s long-handle blows as the pair breezily regered the first 100-plus stand of the match.
With the exaggerated forward lunge, Wadkar obstructs the spinners from producing anything devious from length deliveries. Unlike India’s current crop of Test pros who’ve lost their footing against spin at home, Wadkar’s sync to the rigours of old-ball batting offers a refreshing command.
A red-ball special now, Wadkar says he is confident carrying his spin game from one season to another without additional hours.
“I never do spin practice because this has been my job at No. 6 for eight years. I know what the situations are. Rather, I spend a lot of time handling the new ball because I generally have to see off the second new ball. That is something that still troubles me,” observes Wadkar.
With the setting sun and drooping shoulders of the Rajasthan bowlers, a nonchalant flick to the mid-wicket boundary summoned his 11th First-Class hundred off the last ball of the 90th over. Wadkar, like Siddiqui, sensed his moment and finally stepped into overdrive on day three.
Brief scores: Vidarbha 165 and 358/7 (Akshay Wadkar batting 102, Yash Rathod 98) in 122 overs; Rajasthan 265 all out