Madhya Pradesh v Bengal - http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kumar-Shri-Ranjitsinhji-c71870 Trophy - Group A - Day 4 – Live Score and Update
Madhya Pradesh 343 & 233 v http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Madhya-Pradesh-c809 won by 138 runs
Another contest that saw a closure in the ongoing Ranji Trophy was the Group A game between Madhya Pradesh and Bengal where Madhya Pradesh crushed the opposition by 138 runs, at Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore.
While the first two days saw big scores from both sides, the wicket gradually changed by the end where instead of the batsmen it were the bowlers who were having a great time.
Nevertheless, fans were given four days of splendid play as both teams gave their best in all the departments.
After Madhya Pradesh smacked 342 in their first innings, they were challenged by a first innings score of 299 from Bengal. While the Bengals did not overcome Madhya Pradesh’s tally, they threatened them enough to force Madhya to bat well in the second innings.
Consequently, Madhya Pradesh ended the third day with 135 on the board after losing only three wickets.
The ball was in Madhya Pradesh’s court as they now had the power to steer the game towards a draw or win the match by taking a risk of declaring after putting enough runs on the board to bowl-out their opposition.
The batting pair of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ankit-Sharma-c1053 and UA Birla took the side towards 161 before Birla perished after hammering an impressive knock of 74.
The well-set, Ankit Sharma, was next to find his way off the field after he was dismissed by Sarkar for 73. At the time of his dismissal, Madhya Pradesh had posted 181 runs on the board.
While they kept losing wickets, they still managed to keep the scoreboard ticking, adding pressure on the fielding team.
Jalaj S Saxena hammered 16 before getting trapped in front of stumps off Shukla. While http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rameez-Khan-c83820 stood unbeaten on 27 as the rest of the batsmen did not give much of a show, nonetheless, the side managed to post 233, giving Bengal a target of 277 to win.
With little time left in the day, Bengal’s best option was to see off the bowlers and stay on the wicket till the last delivery of the day.
However, IC Pandey wreaked havoc as he destroyed Bengal by taking five wickets, restricting them to 138.
Tags: