Madhya Pradesh continued their excellent start to the Ranji Trophy 2022-23 season after the defending champions thumped Chandigarh by an innings and 125 runs on Day 2 of their second round match on Wednesday.
MP were 309-all out in their first innings after Rajat Patidar top-scored with 88. They then rattled the Chandigarh batting unit to bowl them out for 57 and 127 in the first and second innings respectively for a massive win.
Kumar Kartikeya, who starred with the ball and scalped a ten-fer in the match, spoke to News18 CricketNext on his team’s dream start to the season.
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“Very happy to make a valuable contribution in the team’s win. At the moment, we are just focusing on one game at a time and want to keep the momentum going,” Kartikeya said.
The spinners dominated the contest and when quizzed on the pitch, the Kartikeya admitted that it did have something on offer for the tweakers.
“We were looking to create pressure with field placements initially but the track did have something on offer for the spinners too,” he said.
When asked about the discussion with coach Chandrakant Pandit after the win, Kartikeya said, “Chandrakant Pandit sir told us that we are champions and should play in that way but at the same time he asked us to keep the focus on the road ahead.”
Madhya Pradesh have 14 points from two games so far.
Railways vs Punjab Suspended
The play on Day 2 between Railways and Punjab was suspended after the pitch at Delhi’s Karnail Singh Stadium was deemed “dangerous and unfit for play” by the match officials.
Read More: Pitch at Karnail Singh Stadium Deemed ‘Dangerous’
“The pitch was uneven. Some balls hit the gloves, others scooted low at shoe-height from the same spot,” a player told ESPNcricinfo. “It was a green wicket but the match officials decided it was too uneven and inconsistent for play to continue.”
Delhi Take The Upper-hand
Delhi are in the driver’s seat against Assam after Dhurv Shorey’s unbeaten 252 helped the side post 439 in the first innings. In reply, Delhi bowlers pushed Assam on the back foot as they reduced their opponents to 158/4 at the close of play on Day 2. Assam are still trailing by 281 with the in-form Riyan Parag back in the hut for 10.
Bengal Dominate Himachal
Bengal’s bowling unit rattled Himachal Pradesh in the first innings after being bowled out for 310. Allrounder Shahbaz Ahmed ripped apart the HP batting line up as he bagged a fifer to bowl the out for 130.
Later, Bengal came out to bat again on the second day and were 89/1, leading by 269 runs at stumps.
Baroda Post Mammoth Total
Baroda batters thoroughly dominated the Haryana bowlers while posting a mammoth 615 in their first innings. Jyotsnil Singh missed out on his double-ton by just five runs while his opening partner Pratyush Kumar struck a fine 110. Priyanshu Moliya also scored a century and remained unbeaten on 144.
Later, Baroda got an early breakthrough after Yuvraj Singh was run out for 2 but Chaitanya Bishnoi and Ankit Kumar steadied the ship for the side as Haryana ended Day 2 on 70/1, still trailing by 545.
Mumbai on a Roll
Mumbai began from they left on Day 1 and put up a huge score of 651/6 before declaring against Hyderabad. Captain Ajinkya Rahane notched up a double ton while Sarfaraz Khan scored 126*. Earlier, Yashavsi Jaiswal had also hit a century.
But the misery for Hyderabad didn’t stop there as Mumbai got wickets at regular intervals. Shams Mulani returned with a fifer as Hyderabad ended the second day’s play at 173/6, trailing by 478 runs.
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