Ranji Trophy 2021-22 | Prithvi Shaw’s rapid 64 canes UP, Madhya Pradesh extend lead

Madhya Pradesh made a late flurry with the ball to gain a marginal lead over Bengal. Later, the Aditya Shrivastava-led side extended their lead, courtesy of Rajat Patidar’s 63 at Alur in the first semi-final.  

In the second knockout game held at Bengaluru, Ranji giants Mumbai continues to mount over Karan Sharma’s Uttar Pradesh with credible batting and disciplined bowling.

Here is a look at the highlights from both matches after the end of Day 3:

1st semi-final: Madhya Pradesh vs Bengal

Resuming Day 3 at 197-5, the Bengal batters managed to add another 76 runs to their first innings total. However, their 273 still fell 68 runs short of Madhya Pradesh’s effort.

Bengal’s Manoj Tiwary and Shahbaz Ahmed struck identical tons, while MP’s Kumar Kartikeya, Saransh Jain and Puneet Datey shared nine wickets between them to shoot out their opponents.

Later, Madhya Pradesh extended their 68-run advantage to 231 runs by stumps. Middle-order batsman Rajat Patidar played the anchor role with an unbeaten 63 and will resume batting tomorrow with captain Aditya Shrivastava.

Brief scores:

Madhya Pradesh: 341 (105.3)

Himanshu Mantri 165, Akshat Raghuwanshi 63

Mukesh Kumar 4-66, Shahbaz Ahmed 3-86

Bengal: 273 (89.2)

Shahbaz Ahmed 116, Manoj Tiwary 102

Puneet Datey 3-48, Kumar Kartikeya 3-61

Madhya Pradesh: 163-2 (63)

Rajat Patidar 63*, Aditya Shrivastava 34*

Pradipta Pramanik 1-22, Mukesh Kumar 1-45

Madhya Pradesh leads by 231 runs

2nd semi-final: Mumbai vs Uttar Pradesh

The first Uttar Pradesh innings concluded at 180, thus handing Mumbai a lead of 213 runs. Mumbai bowlers Tushar Deshpande, Mohit Avasthi and Tanush Kotian all chipped in with three-fer each, while seasoned pacer Dhawal Kulkarni dismissed opener Samarth Singh for a golden duck.

In the second half of the day, the Ranji giants scored runs at a rapid pace and finished the day at 133-1. Captain Prithvi Shaw stroked his way to a 71-ball 64 in a 66-run opening stand, tendering partner Yashasvi Jaiswal as a mere spectator for the first two hours of the second innings.

Brief scores:

Mumbai: 393 (140.4)

Hardik Tamore 115, Yashasvi Jaiswal 100

Karan Sharma 4-46, Saurabh Kumar 3-107

Uttar Pradesh: 180 (54.3)

Shivam Mavi 48*, Madhav Kaushik 38

Tushar Deshpande 3-34, Tanush Kotian 3-35

Mumbai: 133-1 (42)

Prithvi Shaw 64, Yashasvi Jaiswal 35*

Saurabh Kumar 1-32

Mumbai leads by 346 runs