Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh are battling for a spot in the Ranji Trophy final after Saurashtra booked their spot after an easy win against Assam.
Propelled by Surya Kumar Yadav and Aditya Tare’s 217-run fourth wicket partnership, Mumbai set the opposition a formidable 571-run target. They claimed two wickets in the second session to remain in an advantageous position. While Jalaj was run out by Akhil Herwadkar with just 25 runs on the board, Shardul Thakur had Rajat Patidar caught by Tare behind the stumps.
At the end of day’s play, MP were 99 for two with Aditya Shrivastava (53*) leading the way. They need 472 runs on the last day and have eight wickets in hand.
Earlier in the morning, Yadav who was three runs short of his third century of the tournament in the ongoing season, reached the mark on the fourth morning. His captain, who was batting alongside him, too followed him to the three-figure mark a while later. The pair’s partnership tipped the balance in the team’s favour as they looked to pile on the lead determinedly.
However, after Puneet Datey ended the partnership with the wicket of Yadav, and the team on 312 in the second innings, Mumbai lost three more wickets before lunch. Siddhesh Lad was sent back in the following over by Ishwar Pandey while Harpreet Singh Bhatia accounted for the key wicket of Tare 16 runs later. Abhishek Nayar, Mumbai’s experienced campaigner continued to hold the innings together with the lower-order.
With MP too boasting of a solid batting lineup with the likes of Devendra Bundela and Naman Ojha in their ranks, Mumbai looked to stretch the innings and extend the already strong lead. Nayar, remained unbeaten on 73 as he saw the team through the second session until they were bowled out for 426 in the second innings at the stroke of tea.
While Jalaj claimed the wicket of Iqbal Abdullah, the rest of the Mumbai batte were accounted for by the MP pacers.
MP vs Mumbai – SF 2: Mum 2nd inn 426/10 (S Yadav 115, A Tare 109, A Nayar 73, H Singh 3/55, I Pandey 3/103); MP 2nd inn 99/2 (A Shrivastava 53, N Ojha 14*) Need 472 runs to win with 8 wickets in hand
