Ranji Trophy Quarterfinal: Andhra stumbles to hand Madhya Pradesh an advantage

Andhra’s fortunes dwindled with the setting sun on Day 3 as openers Yash Dubey and Himanshu Mantri lifted Madhya Pradesh to 58 for no loss at stumps, 187 runs away from a semifinal spot.

Yash Dubey and Himanshu Mantri gave Madhya Pradesh a sound start in the run chase against Andhra during the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal in Indore. | Photo Credit: Lalith Kalidas | Sportstar

Madhya Pradesh’s spirited bowling comeback helped it neutralise the effect of Andhra’s first-innings lead to set itself a target of 245 in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Thursday.

Andhra’s fortunes dwindled with the setting sun on Day 3 as openers Yash Dubey and Himanshu Mantri lifted Madhya Pradesh to 58 for no loss at stumps, 187 runs away from a semifinal spot. 

Andhra had strolled to lunch after left-arm seamer Prithvi Raj Yarra’s maiden First Class fifer (5/26) folded Madhya Pradesh for 228, earning it a 151-run lead. Aditya Shrivastava’s men could only manage 84 runs for the loss of six wickets in the session. 

Turning point

While Yarra reduced Madhya Pradesh to 179 for eight, a vital 48-run ninth-wicket partnership between Avesh Khan and Kumar Kartikeya denied Andhra a massive lead. 

It later took seven Andhra batters to overhaul the 48-run mark in the second-innings.

Riding on the positivity of his 36-ball knock, Avesh removed Andhra openers C.R. Gnaneshwar and Abhishek Reddy within two overs in the second session. Left-arm spinner Kartikeya held one end while Gourav Yadav replaced Avesh after his six-over spell.

Hobbling in with an injured knee, Gourav snatched three wickets in four overs as Kartikeya removed first-innings centurion Ricky Bhui for one. Ashwin Hebbar (35) offered a fight but fell on the last ball before Tea after a hapless debate with the umpire for his dismissal at first-slip.

Avesh added two quick wickets to his tally after the break, forcing another dramatic cameo from the injured Hanuma Vihari.

Walking in at No. 11 with his forearm fracture, a left-handed Vihari smacked off-spinner Saransh Jain over mid-on for four and backed it up with an audacious reverse sweep to the deep cover fence. Brittle defences eventually gave away when Jain castled Vihari on 15, limiting Andhra to its lowest total this season.

Andhra attempted to exploit the escalating turn with left-arm spinner Lalith Mohan in the evening. However, Dubey and Mantri watchfully ticked off each run.

The Scores

Andhra — 1st innings: 379

Madhya Pradesh — 1st innings: Yash Dubey c Gnaneshwar b Sasikanth 20, Himanshu Mantri c Lalith b Prithvi 22, Shubham Sharma b Sasikanth 51, Rajat Patidar b Nitish 20, Aditya Shrivastava c Bhui b Sasikanth 31, Anubhav Agarwal c Gnaneshwar b Lalith 8, Harsh Gawali c Gawali b Prithvi 1, Saransh Jain c (sub) Tapaswi b Prithvi 8, Avesh Khan c Gnaneshwar b Prithvi 15, Kumar Kartikeya b Prithvi 24, Gourav Yadav not out 0; Extras (b-17, lb-5, w-6) 28; Total (all out in 69.1 overs): 228 Fall of wickets: 1-42, 2-47, 3-89, 4-144, 5-165, 6-167, 7-179, 8-179, 9-227 Andhra Bowling: Sasikanth 18-3-49-3, Nitish 23-4-78-1, Prithvi 14.1-5-26-5, Lalith 11-2-41-1, Shoaib 3-0-12-0. Andhra — 2nd innings: CR Gnaneshwar c Dubey b Avesh 1, Abhishek Reddy lbw b Avesh 1, Nitish Kumar b Gourav 14, Ashwin Hebbar c Patidar b Kartikeya 35, Ricky Bhui b Kartikeya 1, Karan Shinde c Patidar b Gourav 4, KV Sasikanth b Gourav 0, Shoaib Khan c Shubham b Avesh 16, Lalith Mohan c Gawali b Avesh 0, Prithvi Raj not out 2, Hanuma Vihari b Saransh 15; Extras (b-1, lb-2, w-1) 4; Total (all out in 32.3 overs): 93 Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-2, 3-39, 4-40, 5-51, 6-51, 7-69, 8-71, 9-76. Madhya Pradesh bowling: Kartikeya 15-3-41-2, Avesh 10-3-24-4, Gourav 5-0-10-3, Saransh 1.3-0-11-1, Anubhav 1-0-4-0 Madhya Pradesh — 2nd innings: Yash Dubey (batting) 24, Himanshu Mantri (batting) 31; Extras (nb-3) 3; Total (no loss in 16 overs): 58 Andhra bowling: Lalith 7-0-26-0, Prithvi 3-0-8-0, Sasikanth 4-0-12-0, Nitish 1-0-5-0, Shoaib 1-0-7-0.