Weather continued to mar the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy Elite Group-C opener between Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka as bad light and rain brought an early end to day three at the Holkar Stadium here on Sunday.
After Saturday was abandoned without a ball being bowled, clear skies, glorious sunshine and a small holiday crowd welcomed the players. But of the scheduled 98 overs, only 57 could be bowled as light worsened with 20 minutes left for tea before two rounds of rain ushered in the close. At stumps, Madhya Pradesh was 425 for eight in its first innings.
As long as players were on the field, the hosts were firmly in control. Skipper Shubham Sharma, who had retired hurt on day one on 40, returned at the fall of Venkatesh Iyer’s wicket and went on to notch up his ninth First Class ton (143 batting, 243b, 13x4, 2x6).
The 30-year-old exhibited all the basic tenets of long-format batting — tidy in his defence, playing close to his body and always to the pitch of the ball.
Karnataka, in fact, opened proceedings strongly as speedster V. Vyshak had Venkatesh caught at gully in the second over of the day. Harpreet Singh Bhatia, who began on 75, hung around for a while before V. Koushik castled him (266/6).
However, Shubham and Saransh Jain (51, 128b, 4x4) blunted the Karnataka attack. Vyshak and Koushik operated in tandem in the searing heat for more than 90 minutes and bowled admirably tight lines. But a breakthrough was elusive.
Karnataka dearly missed lead pacer Prasidh Krishna, who didn’t take the field. The 28-year-old, who made his return from a quadriceps injury in the Duleep Trophy last month, had walked off the park on day one after bowling just eight overs, seemingly in discomfort on was a slightly soggy and slippery outfield.
Shubham and Jain put on 131 runs for the seventh wicket, a partnership which in all probability will ensure that Karnataka gets no more than a point from the game.
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