Opener Subhransu Senapati scored a gritty half-century to keep Madhya Pradesh in the hunt for an outright win over Bengal in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group-C match at the Holkar Stadium here on Friday.
Resuming at 170 for five, Bengal made 276 in its second innings and set Madhya Pradesh a target of 338.
The contest is evenly poised as the host, at 150 for three on day three, needs 188 runs while Bengal requires seven wickets to record victory on the final day.
Overnight batters Writtick Chatterjee (52, 106b, 6x4) and Wriddhiman Saha (44, 115b, 3x4) concentrated hard for a 67-run stand.
Writtick pulled Kumar Kartikeya to deep-square leg shortly after completing his half-century.
A patient Saha mostly scored in singles before being given out, caught at first slip off Kartikeya while trying a scoop, and walked back disappointed.
Riding his luck, Mohammed Shami (37, 36b, 2x4 2x6) swung his bat to add 39 runs with his brother Kaif for the final wicket before becoming Kartikeya’s fourth victim. His cameo helped Bengal set a challenging target.
With the track becoming docile and some deliveries keeping low, Bengal bowlers had to work hard.
The right-left opening combination of Senapati (50, 110b, 6x4) and Himanshu Mantri (44, 77b, 4x4) gave Madhya Pradesh a fine start.
Senapati, who survived two lbw appeals and got a ‘life’ on 14, played fluent drives on either side, while Mantri mostly rotated the strike and occasionally found a boundary.
Shami, bowling 11 overs in four spells at a good speed, tried different lengths and leaked runs.
Rohit Kumar provided the breakthrough as Mantri’s leading edge went to deep fine-leg.
Senapati added 41 runs with Rajat Patidar (32, 41b, 4x4) before being bowled by Shahbaz.
Shami removed night watchman Anubhav Agarwal cheaply, but captain Shubham Sharma and Patidar, who executed sweetly-timed shots, prevented further damage.
The scores:
Bengal — 1st innings: 228.
Madhya Pradesh — 1st innings: 167.
Bengal — 2nd innings: Shuvam Dey c Kartikeya b Aryan 4, Sudip Gharami st. Mantri b Kartikeya 40, Sudip Chatterjee b Anubhav 40, Anustup Majumdar lbw b Anubhav 19, Writtick Chatterjee c Aryan b Kartikeya 52, Shahbaz Ahmed c Mantri b Anubhav 3,. Wriddhiman Saha c Patidar b Saransh 44, Rohit Kumar lbw b Kartikeya 3, Suraj Jaiswal c (sub) Dubey b Anubhav 5, Mohammed Shami st. Mantri b Kartikeya 37, Mohammed Kaif (not out) 6; Extras (b-4, lb-10, nb-1, w-8): 23; Total (in 88.3 overs): 276.
Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-63, 3-99, 4-124, 5-133, 6-200, 7-213, 8-219, 9-237.
Madhya Pradesh bowling: Aryan 14-2-36-1, Anubhav 22-3-74-4, Khejroliya 19-4-56-0, Kartikeya 25.3-3-76-4, Saransh 8-0-20-1.
Madhya Pradesh — 2nd innings: Subhransu Senapati b Shahbaz 50, Himanshu Mantri c Shahbaz b Rohit 44, Rajat Patidar (batting) 32, Anubhav Agarwal lbw b Shami 2, Shubham Sharma (batting) 18; Extras (b-3, nb-1): 4; Total (for three wkts. in 41 overs): 150.
Fall of wickets: 1-84, 2-125, 3-128.
Bengal bowling: Shami 11-1-55-1, Jaiswal 9-2-25-0, Rohit 7-4-20-1, Shahbaz 6-0-21-1, Kaif 8-1-26-0.
Published - November 16, 2024 12:25 am IST
