Irani Trophy 2023, MP vs ROI, Day 2: Madhya Pradesh Skate On Thin Ice Despite Their Improved Show
Mukesh Kumar celebrating a fall of wicket [Twitter]
Although Madhya Pradesh did well to suppress Rest of India to 484 runs after a mammoth partnership between Abhimanyu Easwaran and Yashasvi Jaiswal, their top-order's failure left them on a knife's edge.
Dhull returns to form amidst Rest of India's collapse
Starting the day at 381/3, the Rest of India went down like a stumbling block as Madhya Pradesh turned on the recovery mode.
Saurabh Kumar was the first one to fall on the day as Ankit Kushwah bowled him.
Yash Dhull and Baba Indrajith stitched a 51-run partnership, however, as Anubhav Agarwal dismissed the latter, it brought air out of the balloon.
After Dhull formed a 33-run stand with Upendra Yadav and also scored his fifty, a collapse ensued as Rest of India folded for 484 runs.
Avesh Khan took four wickets in the innings.
Saini, Mukesh clears Madhya Pradesh's top-order
Navdeep Saini and Mukesh Kumar drove Madhya Pradesh into a corner as their top-order failed miserably with the side being reduced to 15/3.
However, Yash Dubey and Harsh Gawli rescued the sinking ship, filling in the holes to move the water out. Their undefeated 97-run stand kept Madhya Pradesh guarded from the adversaries.
At the end of the day's play, Madhya Pradesh are at 112/3 with Dubey and Gawli unbeaten at 53 and 47 runs respectively.
Brief scores:
Rest of India - 484/10 (121.3)
Yashasvi Jaiswal 213 (259), Abhimanyu Easwaran 154 (240); Avesh Khan 4-74 (23.3), Anubhav Agarwal 2-83 (18)
Madhya Pradesh - 112/3 (43)
Yash Dubey 53* (110), Harsh Gawli 47* (125); Navdeep Saini 2-15 (10), Mukesh Kumar 1-27 (11)
Madhya Pradesh trail by 372 runs
 "Aayush Mahajan")
