Ranji Trophy 2015-16, Group B: Madhya Pradesh set Mumbai 280-run target with 2 days remaining

Shardul Thakur picked up three Madhya Pradesh wickets for 33 runs for Mumbai. (Source: PTI file)

An interesting finish is on cards as Madhya Pradesh set Mumbai a tricky 280-run target with two days to go in their Ranji Trophy Group B match, in Indore.

Madhya Pradesh bowled out Mumbai for 176 to take a 78-run first innings lead and then scored 201 in their second essay as 14 wickets fell on the second day of the contest.

Mumbai now have two full days at their disposal to knock off the required runs and bag six points but the batsmen have struggled to get big scores on this track.

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Mumbai began this morning at 74 for six and thanks to some gritty bating by their lower-order they managed more than 100 runs before losing all wickets.

Iqbal Abdulla (21), Shardul Thakur (18), Vishal Dabholkar (16) and Ankush Jaiswal (20 not out) all contributed in their team’s cause.

Jalaj Saxena (5/66) and Ankit Sharma (5/80) took five wickets each for the hosts.

Saxena then top-scored for MP by scoring 79 runs while opening the innings. Others who batted well were skipper Devendra Bundela (42) and Harpreet Singh (22).

Thakur (3/33) and Abdulla (3/53) shared six wickets between them to allow Mumbai make a comeback into the match.

The onus is now in Mumbai batsmen to cash in on the opportunity.

Brief Scores: Madhya Pradesh 240 & 201 in 71.2 overs.(J Saxena 79, D Bundela 42; S Thakur 3/33) Mumbai 1st innings: 162 all out in 38.1 overs (J Bista 27, I Abdulla 21; J Saxena /66)

Harbhajan shines, Raina out for duck as Punjab on top vs UP

Skipper Harbhajan Singh’s three-wicket burst in an eight-over spell left Uttar Pradesh reeling at 205 for eight in reply to Punjab’s first innings total of 272 in a group B Ranji Trophy encounter, in Kanpur on Wednesday.

With another 68 runs required for the home team to ensure atleast three points, Punjab are in driver’s seat at the moment courtesy their skipper’s 3/31 which included the wickets of set batsmen Umang Sharma (49) and Akshdeep Nath (35), who had added 50 runs for the fourth wicket.

Brief Scores: Punjab 1st Innings 272 in 90.3 overs (Mayank Siddhana 85, Gitansh Khera 74, Praveen Kumar 4/81) Uttar Pradesh 205/8 in 71 overs (Suresh Raina 0, Umang Sharma 49, Harbhajan Singh 3/31)

Railways lead by 262 runs against Andhra on Day 2

Karn Sharma returned with a five-wicket haul before Ashish Yadav cracked an unbeaten fifty as Railways dismissed Andra Pradesh for 114 and then reached 194-8 in their second innings on the second day of their Group B Ranji Trophy match in New Delhi on Tuesday.

On a day when as many as 14 wickets fell, Railways extended their lead by 262 runs with 2 wickets remaining.

At the draw of stumps, Ashish (55) was at the crease and giving him company was No. 10 batsman Sagar Mishra (11) at the Karnail Singh Stadium in New Delhi.

Brief Score: Railways 182 & 194/8 in 64 overs (A Yadav 55 not out; B Sudhakar 4/49) Andhra 114 all out in 50 overs (DB Prasanth 49; K V Sharma 5/30)