Watch: Yash Rathod, playing just his seventh first-class game, scored a crucial 141 in 200 balls to help Vidarbha to a strong position during the 2023/24 Ranji Trophy semi-final against Madhya Pradesh.
Subscribe to the Wisden Cricket YouTube channel for post-match analysis, player interviews, and much more.
The 23-year-old Yash Rathod made his first-class debut last year, but was dropped from the side after scores of 1, 19 and 35. He did not play a professional game for over a year and got his first opportunity in 13 months when he was named in the Vidharbha XI for the Ranji Trophy game against Rajasthan this year.
He latched onto the opportunity with 81 at No.3, and has not looked back since then. He made 42, 71, 4, 93 and 7 in his next three games, playing a pivotal role in his side’s run into the semi-final.
Read:Watch: India discard Venkatesh Iyer bowls cracking inswinger to clean up stumps in Ranji semi-final
Against Madhya Pradesh, Rathod stood up once again. Vidarbha had conceded a first-innings lead of 82. After they were reduced to 137-4 in the second innings, he walked out at No.6, held one end up, and got to his hundred in 167 balls to keep Vidarbha in the game.
Rathod was eventually dismissed for a 200-ball 141 by Kulwant Khejroliya; his innings containing 18 fours and two sixes. He stitched together 158 runs with skipper Akshay Wadkar for the sixth wicket, taking Vidarbha from 161-5 to 402.
Rathod has also played 15 List A games, with his last appearance in the format coming in 2021. He made his debut in the 2019 Asian Cricket Council Emerging Teams Cup, where he played three games and scored 20 runs. He also has two T20 appearances for Vidarbha.
