Minister’s century gave Madhya Pradesh a big target for Vidarbha, Punjab and Railways won
Wicket-keeper batsman Himanshu Mantri scored 126 as Madhya Pradesh declared their second innings at 257 for five to set Vidarbha a target of 407 on the third day of their Ranji Trophy Group D match here on Thursday. The minister hit 16 fours and two sixes in his 194-ball knock. Earlier, Madhya Pradesh bowlers bundled out Vidarbha’s first innings for 160 runs after adding 13 more runs. Fast bowler Avesh Khan took seven wickets in the innings by dismissing Nachiket Bhute (12) and Lalit Yadav (04). Only opener SR Ramaswamy (58) was able to bat for Vidarbha.
He was the last batsman to be dismissed. In the second innings, the minister took over the responsibility from Madhya Pradesh. He shared a 120-run partnership for the second wicket with Shubham Sharma (55). He also shared a half-century partnership with Rajat Patidar (38). In response, Vidarbha ended the day at 13 for one. Avesh lbw Ramaswamy (06). Meanwhile, Punjab beat Gujarat by 380 runs in Valsad. Chasing the target of 519 runs, the hosts failed in the second innings as well and the entire team was bundled out for 138 runs.
Manan Hingrajia (74 not out) scored a half-century for Gujarat while Priyesh Patel (37) and Karan Patel (25) also reached double digits. Railways beat Jammu and Kashmir by an innings and 73 runs in Surat to collect seven points including a bonus point. Manan Vohra (200) scored a double century and Kunal Mahajan (162 not out) as Chandigarh scored 455 for three against Tripura in Agartala.
