Akash Deep cooks Madhya Pradesh's goose; Sheldon Jackson plays havoc with Karnataka
Akash Deep grabbed a fifer [Twitter]
Bengal and Saurashtra will be cock-a-hoop with their performances on Day 3 of their respective semi-final clashes versus Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka as the two teams take giant strides towards the finale.
Akash muddy the waters for Madhya Pradesh
If Sudip Gharami and Anustup Majumdar had not bruised Madhya Pradesh enough with their centuries, Akash Deep lay waste to the hosts' batting line-up as his five-wicket haul gave Bengal a 268-run lead after the first essay.
Starting the day at 56/2, Madhya Pradesh felt instant jitters as Akash, Mukesh Kumar and Shahbaz Ahmad raised cain with the ball.
While Saransh Jain, the top-scorer for Madhya Pradesh, was cleaned up by Akash, it was Rajat Patidar's duck that had foretold how the innings would unfold for Aditya Shrivastava and Co.
Saransh with his fifty and Shubham Sharma's unbeaten 99-ball 44 took Madhya Pradesh to 170 runs.
Bengal ended the day at 59/2 with both their openers Karan Lal and Abhimanyu Easwaran back in the hut.
Jackson-Vasavada special batters Karnataka
A 232-run partnership highlighted Saurashtra's innings as its two protagonists Sheldon Jackson and Arpit Vasavada scored tons to end the day on a high.
Harvik Desai got out early as Saurashtra then trailed by 315 runs, languishing at 92/3.
However, with Vasavada's arrival on the crease, Saurashtra scooted back into the match as Karnataka were forced into the abyss.
Jackson was adjudged lbw after he smashed 160 runs, while Vasavada remained undefeated at 112.
Saurashtra are now at 364/4, still, 43 runs behind Karnataka's first-innings total.
 "Aayush Mahajan")
