Gawli, Dubey fight back after Saini, Mukesh give MP early scare
Madhya Pradesh were 15 for 3 replying to 484 and still have a long way to go
ESPNcricinfo staff
02-Mar-2023
File photo: Navdeep Saini is pumped • Getty Images
Madhya Pradesh 112 for 3 (Dubey 53*, Gawli 47, Saini 2-15) trail Rest of India 484 (Jaiswal 213, Easwaran 154, Avesh 4-74) by 372 runs
Harsh Gawli and Yash Dubey put up an unbeaten 97-run stand to resurrect Madhya Pradesh's innings after Navdeep Saini and Mukesh Kumar rattled them early with the new ball.
In reply to Rest of India's (RoI) massive total of 484, Madhya Pradesh got off to a shaky start, as Mukesh struck in the first over getting Arham Aquil to edge behind for a duck. In the next over, Saini induced a thick outside edge off Himanshu Mantri's bat with Dhull at second slip taking a superb catch. It wasn't too long before Shubham Sharma walked back to the pavilion after Saini pinned him in front, leaving Madhya Pradesh reeling at 15 for 3.
Gawli and Dubey then came together to resist the RoI bowlers, who were made to toil without rewards for the rest of the day. After a watchful start, the pair managed to hit a few boundaries to build up the score. Dubey also brought up his half-century with a four off Saini to backward point. At stumps, Madhya Pradesh had reached 112 for 3, with Gawli on 47 and Dubey on 53.
Resuming the day on 381 for 3, RoI lost their nightwatch Saurabh Kumar early in the day for a duck. Yash Dhull then joined B Indrajith at the crease, as the duo took RoI's total past 400. While Dhull displayed an aggressive intent, picking the gaps with every chance he got, Indrajith was more sedate at the crease. Indrajith's 72-ball stay came to an end with him edging an Anubhav Agarwal delivery to the wicketkeeper. Soon after, Dhull brought up his fifty off 65 balls with a boundary.
At one point, RoI were cruising towards 500 with Dhull going strong at one end. But with Upendra Yadav's dismissal, RoI went on to lose their last five wickets for 18 runs. Left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya cleaned up Upendra for 14 before Agarwal had Atit Sheth caught behind for a duck at the stroke of lunch. Kartikeya then claimed the key scalp of Dhull, who played down the wrong line to be struck on his back pad. Saini and Pulkit Narang then hit three boundaries combined to take the total to 484 before Avesh Khan (4 for 74) struck back-to-back to finish the proceedings.