Madhya Pradesh secure vital first innings lead

Madhya Pradesh hustled out Hyderabad for 389 to collect a 107-run first innings lead in their Ranji Trophy pre-quarterfinal at the Daly College Ground in Indore on Tuesday. On a day when 36 overs were lost due to bad light, the hosts moved to 116/1 in their second innings at stumps, and are virtually through to the quarters.

Resuming at 300/4, Hyderabad lost their last six wickets for 79. They suffered a grievous blow in the third over of the day, losing A Nandakishore for 8. The skipper who normally opens the innings with Daniel Manohar gave seamer Jai Prakash Yadav his first wicket. At the same score of 303, the other overnight batsman Vanka Pratap also perished, caught behind by wicket keeper AS Srivastava off medium pacer Devendra Bundela.

Tailender Mohd. Ghouse hit a breezy 23, including two fours and a six, before falling leg before to former India off spinner Rajesh Chauhan, who finished with figures of 3/84, the best among all the MP bowlers. Returning from a brief journey into the India ranks, Narendra Hirwani added a second scalp to his kitty and JP Yadav came back to mop up the tail. No.7 Shivaji Yadav finished unbeaten on 26.

MP openers Harvinder Sodhi and Naman Ojha added 78 for the first wicket to follow up their first innings effort of 69. Sodhi was leg before to left arm seamer Ghouse for 36 but Ojha (40) and Amay Khurasiya (22) took MP safely through to close of play, with an overall lead of 223 runs.