Madhya Pradesh beat Gujarat by 206 runs, consolidate top spot in Group D
Defending champions Madhya Pradesh consolidated their top position in Group D with a 206-run win over Gujarat in a Ranji Trophy match here on Friday. Shubham Sharma was the star of Madhya Pradesh’s victory, scoring 72 and 101 not out to take his team to victory. Wicket-keeper Himanshu Mantri (159 runs) scored a century and Shubham (72 runs) scored 312 runs in the first innings, Madhya Pradesh bundled out Gujarat for 211 runs. Captain Priyank Panchal top-scored for Gujarat with 71 runs while Manan Hingrajiya scored 66 runs.
In the second innings of Madhya Pradesh, Shubham quickly scored a century in just 118 balls, which included eight fours and three sixes. Mantri (65 runs) and Rajat Patidar (57 runs) also made useful contributions with the bat as Madhya Pradesh declared their second innings at 280 for six in 71.3 overs, setting Gujarat a target of 382 for victory. But in pursuit of this target, Gujarat’s innings faltered in which off-spinner Saransh Jain (4/64) gave the initial shocks. Medium pacer Gaurav Yadav (3/41) also lent full support to his fellow bowler as Madhya Pradesh bundled out Gujarat for 121 in 40.3 overs to get full points from the match.
Hosts Punjab beat Jammu and Kashmir by four wickets in Mohali to finish second in Group D. Jammu Kashmir scored 212 and Punjab scored 268 runs in the first innings. Jammu and Kashmir scored 260 runs in the second innings and set Punjab a target of 205 runs to win, which achieved it by scoring 210 runs for six wickets in 24.5 overs with the help of Abhishek Sharma (83 runs) half-century and Mandeep Singh’s 45 not out. took.
The match between Vidarbha and Chandigarh in Chandigarh ended in a draw and both the teams got one point as Chandigarh team could not even finish the first innings due to bad weather. Vidarbha won the first innings in 73.2 overs with the help of Sanjeev Raghunath’s 133 runs. Declared at 307 for six wickets. The Chandigarh team could play only five overs in the first innings in which they scored 16 runs for one wicket. Railways beat Tripura by six wickets in Surat to get six points. Tripura scored 96 and 449 runs in the first and second innings respectively. Chasing a target of 209 after scoring 337 in the first innings, Railways won by scoring 211 for four in 40.3 overs.
