Follow UsYash Dubey (133) and Shubham Sharma (116) made the biggest stage of Indian domestic cricket their own with well-crafted centuries that pulled the rug from heavyweights Mumbai's feet as Madhya Pradesh took a giant leap towards their maiden Ranji Trophy title on Friday.
After a century from Sarfaraz Khan that propelled Mumbai to 374 runs in the first innings, it was time for Dubey and Sharma to shine on a wicket conducive for batting.
The duo accumulated the ones, and the twos and forged a crucial 222-run stand for the second wicket to put MP in a commanding position of 368 runs for the loss of three wickets at stumps on Day three. Madhya Pradesh trail by six runs and are in a strong position to take the first-innings lead that will hold them in good stead for their maiden title.
While the duo were the star performers of the day, Rajat Patidar, too, played a crucial role coming in at number four. The right-handed batter started the innings by attacking the Mumbai bowling unit and scored a blazing half-century to help his side inch closer to Mumbai's first innings total.
The 29-year-old is currently unbeaten on 67, studded with 13 boundaries and MP would certainly look to him as they aim to stretch their innings as much as possible so that Mumbai have no chance to make a comeback in the game.
The Chinnaswamy Stadium track didn't show signs of wear and tear, and the bright sunshine only helped the MP batters to settle down easily against a Mumbai attack which was, at one level, ordinary.
Shams Mulani disappoints
The biggest disappointment was their left-arm spinner Shams Mulani (1/117 in 40 overs), who bowled too many loose deliveries. Veteran Dhawal Kulkarni (21-3-51-0) and the seasoned Tushar Deshpande (24-8-73-1) were also below-par as they consistently gave drivable length to the batters in the morning session.
Instead of conjuring up maiden overs and building the pressure slowly, within the first half an hour, they allowed Dubey and Sharma to easily hit multiple cover drives to get their eye in.
Kulkarni, the only man in this set-up with experience of winning a Ranji Trophy, bowled too many deliveries outside the off-stump, which were left alone.
When Mulani came in, Sharma lofted him over long-off for a six, leaving his skipper Prithvi Shaw frustrated. Mulani bowled too many length balls and full-tosses to make the life of the batters much easier.
While Dubey hit 14 boundaries and Sharma had 15 hits and a maximum to his credit, what stood out during their partnership was their running between the wickets.
Dubey (613 runs) and Sharma (578 runs) have been standout performers for MP this season was evident in their on-field communication, where they would tap the ball towards mid-on or mid-off to steal those quick singles.
Save Arman Jaffer missing a regulation catch of Sharma at short point, Mumbai hardly created any chances, although Mohit Avasthi (20-5-53-1) could be credited for bowling one channel.
By the time Sharma was caught behind off Avasthi and Dubey gave Mulani something to cheer after another 72-run third-wicket stand; some of the Mumbai players were on their hunches.
Patidar was smashing them for fun, and the writing is clearly on the wall. Mumbaikar Pandit's Madhya Pradesh is walking away with this one unless there is a miracle in the last two days.
(With inputs from PTI)
(Image credit - BCCI Domestic Twitter)