After a stellar performance from their bowlers on the first day, it was the turn of the Madhya Pradesh batsmen led by Shubham Sharma (102 not out) to give a strong reply against Punjab on the second day of their Ranji Trophy quarter-final match at Alur (Karnataka). on Tuesday.
Replying to Punjab’s 219 on a lifeless pitch, MP made a strong start to his innings with 238 for 2 at stumps, taking a 19-run lead with eight wickets in the first innings.
Both the openers Yash Dubey and Himanshu Mantri disappointed the opposition bowlers. Punjab had to wait for leg-spinner Mayank Markande’s breakthrough as the fast bowlers failed to take wickets. The 24-year-old did the same by dismissing Yash Dubey (20).
However, Mantri and Shubham Sharma both put on a solid 120-run stand for the second wicket to put Punjab in command against a toothless Punjab bowling attack. Both batted for close to 48 overs and in the process did the most damage to the Punjab bowlers.
As Markande once again came to the rescue of Punjab by removing the minister (89), it was Sharma who continued his brilliant and steady innings. Courtesy of the 28-year-old middle-order batsman scoring his sixth first-class century (102 not out), nine fours and a six, there are still three days to go to keep his team in command.
For Punjab, the only consolation of the day was probably the tough bowling of Markande, who represented Mumbai Indians in the recently concluded Indian Premier League.
short score
Punjab: 219 all out in 71.3 overs (Abhishek Sharma 47, Anmolpreet Singh 47, Puneet Date 3/48, Anubhav Agarwal 3/36).
Madhya Pradesh: 238/2 in 99 overs (Shubham Sharma 102 not out, Himanshu Mantri 89; Mayank Markande 2/70)
Get all the latest updates cricket news, cricket pictures, cricket videos, IPL 2022 Live Updates And cricket score Here