MATCH REPORT
Follow UsManoj Tiwary and Shahbaz Ahmed save Bengal from the blues
Brief scores: Bengal 197/5 (Manoj Tiwary 84*, Shahbaz Ahmed 72*; Puneet Datey 2/34) trail Madhya Pradesh 341 all out by 144 runs
Starting the day on 271/6, Madhya Pradesh rode on the back of a scintillating innings from their wicketkeeper-opener Himanshu Mantri. The left-handed opener, who started the day on 134, progressed well in the innings before Mukesh Kumar dismissed him on 165. Puneet Datey’s 33 off 37 balls too came at the right cause for Madhya Pradesh.
However, the partnership of Shahbaz Ahmed and Mukesh with the ball, with seven wickets in between the two, restricted MP to just a total of 341 after their innings. MP then brought out a box of tricks, opening the bowling with spinner, Kumar Kartikeya.
The Mumbai Indians’ spinner responded in most sublime of fashions, reducing Bengal two down in just the first over. Bengal’s duo of Abhishek Raman and Sudip Kumar Gharami were victims of the left-handed spinner’s chaos. Trend continued post lunch, with Saransh Jain dismissing Anustup Majumdar.
Datey too joined the party, removing Abhimanyu Easwaran. However, after that, the duo of Manoj Tiwary and Shahbaz Ahmed saved the day for Bengal. The duo joined hands, stitching up a 143-run partnership, with both the batters remaining unbeaten at the close of the day’s play. Tiwary scored an unbeaten 84 as Ahmed piled 72 runs of his own, with Bengal trailing by 144 runs.
Hardik Tamore’s hundred puts Mumbai on top
Brief scores: Uttar Pradesh 25/2 (Madhav Kaushik 11*, Karan Sharma 10*; Tushar Deshpande 1/10) trail Mumbai 393 all out (Hardik Tamore 115, Yashasvi Jaiswal 100; Karan Sharma 4/46) by 368 runs
While there was plenty of action in the other semi-final, the second day of this particular encounter was derailed by the rain god. The entirety of the first session of the day’s play was rained out. The duo of Yash Dayal and Shivam Mavi did trouble the two batters – Hardik Tamore and Shams Mulani – but to no immediate avail.
The duo put on a 113-run stand for Mumbai before skipper Karan Sharma picked up the wicket of Mulani after the latter brought up his half-century. In his first match of this year’s Ranji season, Tamore (115) brought up a scintillating century, which put Mumbai on top of the proceedings at 393 after their first innings. The UP skipper was the pick of the bowlers for the state, with four wickets in the innings.
Using the seam and swing movement available from the pitch, Mumbai opening bowlers – Dhawal Kulkarni and Tushar Deshpande – put UP on the backfoot. Kulkarni struck first, with opener Samarth Singh caught behind in the first over. Deshpande followed Kulkarni, with the wicket of Priyam Garg, whose big gap between the bat and pad was undesirable.
Uttar Pradesh ended the day on 25, losing two wickets, with opener Madhav Kaushik and skipper Karan steadying the ship towards the end of the day, as they still trail Mumbai by 368 runs.
Photo Credits: Cricket Association of Bengal
