Ranji Trophy 2017-18: 5 things that Vidarbha did well this season

Last year, it was the Gujarat team who made headlines by beating the heavyweights Mumbai and winning the Ranji Trophy. To make it into the semifinals is a tough task. This season, Vidarbha has made it to the semis for the first time.

But for reaching the finals, they have a mountain to climb- Beat Karnataka in the semis.

Let's see what worked for them this season:

Openers: Ramaswamy and Fazal

In previous seasons, Vidarbha struggled to find the right opening combination. However, the move to persist with Sanjay Ramaswamy has paid rich dividends. Although Ramaswamy made his debut in 2014, it was in the last season that he actually found his footing in the team. In the last season, he batted for long hours and scored over 450 runs.

With the ever-reliable captain Faiz Fazal at the top, they complemented each other well.

The consistency at the top is evident in this season with the opening partnership averaging 100.88(before the semifinals). They have two 200+ runs opening partnership.

Both the batsmen are in top 10 run scorers list this season.