Rajasthan-MP game ends in thrilling draw

The three day Central Zone Cooch Behar (under-19) match between Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh ended in a thrilling draw at the Mansarovar stadium in Jaipur on Tuesday.

Ahead by nine runs on the first innings, MP were all out for 136 in their second knock. Opening bowler Naresh Gehlot was the wrecker in chief taking five wickets for 19 off 22 overs. MP were at one stage 68 for one, thanks to a second wicket stand of 55 runs off 16.4 overs between Sachin Dholpur (31) and Mohnish Mishra (29). But the remaining batsmen offered little resistance.

Rajasthan had to get 146 runs for victory in 29 overs and though they lost wickets at regular intervals, they maintained a brisk scoring rate. Opener Vivek Sharma (23 off 19 balls), Ankiush Singh (39 off 52 balls), Tahir Khan (25 off 31 balls) and Vivek Yadav (19 not out off 11 balls) all did their best to get Rajasthan near the target. Ultimately, they fell four runs short, finishing on 142 for seven. Ambalal Patidar, with three for 54 off eleven overs, was the most successful bowler.