Vansh Jani posted a monster second innings of 264 to put Warwickshire Second XI on the path to an 86-run victory against Essex at the Edgbaston Community Sports Ground.
Batting first, the Bears were bowled out for 204 with Taz Ali top scoring with 41* as they looked to build on the impressive eight-wicket victory against Northamptonshire in last week’s friendly.
They went into the second innings trailing by 76 but it wasn’t long before Jani started building an eye-catching innings which ultimately took the game out of Essex’s reach.
The 20-year-old arrived at the crease with the Bears 57-2 after Kai Smith was bowled by Noah Thain and wasted no time in manoeuvring his side into a winning position.
His 264 came from just 302 balls and contained 33 fours and six sixes, before he was caught by Michael Killeen off the bowling of Jack Parrish.
The Bears were eventually bowled out for 475, amassing a lead of 399, a total which saw Essex’s chase start well, before numerous wickets fell in a short period of time to put the Bears in the driving seat.
The Chelmsford-based side went from 85-1 to 98-5, but did rebuild somewhat with Naivedyam Dwivedi chalking up 67 and Ali Zeb finishing unbeaten on 76 as Essex were bowled out for 313, meaning the Bears chalked up an impressive victory.
It was that innings from Jani which laid the foundations for victory and he was pleased to be able to contribute to a victory.
“I’m very proud of an innings like that,” he said. “To get a double hundred and make it a really big one is a really proud achievement. Had a couple of smaller scores to start the season, a couple of 30s and 40s, so to get a big one is really good.
“In the situation we were in with the game, we were 80-odd behind so knew we needed quite a few in the second innings to build a lead. It was a pretty clear task, I had to bat long and bat for time. That was my main aim, not necessarily whether I was going to get a big score or not, it was just trying to extend the lead, but it was nice to score 264.
“Finishing off the game with a win was a nice feeling and made a big score all the more worth it.”