Hello and welcome to Sportstar’s coverage of Day 4 of the Irani Cup. This is Lalith Kalidas bringing you the updates.
Ankit to Upendra, OUT!
Dipak: Make it 5. Upendra Yadav is out leg-before. The batter though was not impressed with the decision. Shows the bat to the umpire. And he has every right to be, had a huge inside edge.
Ankit to Dhull, OUT!
Dipak: Make it 3 for the day. It is all happening! Yash Dull is out for a golden duck as he tries to play on the up and is on the move. He edges the ball to the first slip. A poor shot from Dhull, facing his first ball and trying to walk across and hit it on the rise. Slight movement for Ankit, enough to find the edge.
An overcast morning, the sun is not out here and MP bowlers have made full use of the conditions
Upendra Yadav in at 6.
Yash Dhull 0(1) ct Harsh Gawali b Ankit Singh Kushwah
Avesh to Indrajith, OUT!
Dipak: Avesh strikes again. has B. Indrajith trapped leg-before for a duck. poor outing for the TN batter. It was a problem Indrajith had in the first innings as well, falling over towards the off-side and getting into a tangle trying to play across. The bounce saved him quite a few times in the first innings. This time not so much. Hits him just below the knee roll.
B Indrajith 0(9) lbw Avesh Khan
Yash Dhull walks in at 5.
Avesh to Easwaran, OUT!
Dipak: First wicket of the day for MP. Avesh Khan strikes, has Abhimanyu bowled. A brief wait as they checked the no ball, but Avesh Khan was well behind the line. Just like for Mayank Agarwal yesterday, the ball kept low. Abhimanyu rooted on the crease and it skidded off the surface.
Abhimanyu played for the length there and the ball just didn’t rise. Considering the previous ball was a short one, and he missed trying to roll his wrist over it, understandable why he didn’t press forward..
A R Easwaran 28(63) b Avesh Khan
Baba Indrajith in at 4.
100 up for Rest of India as Jaiswal plays the latest of late-cuts off the top of off-stump against Ankit Kushwah. He guides the ball past a straightish third for FOUR. Exquisite.
A brief halt in play as Avesh hits Easwaran with a rising delivery to the helmet. Easwaran seems to have recovered quickly from the sharp blow. Avesh concedes five from his first over.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Abhimanyu Easwaran return to the middle. Avesh Khan up with the ball.
Irani Cup Day 3 Recap
Yash Dubey’s valiant century (109, 258b, 16x4) was not enough to prevent Madhya Pradesh from conceding a huge first-innings lead against the Rest of India on day three of the Irani Cup here at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium on Friday.
MP was bowled out for 294, with off-spinner Pulkit Narang taking four wickets to help RoI secure a 190-run lead.
First-innings double-centurion Yashasvi Jaiswal continued from where he left off, racing to an unbeaten half-century (58 batting, 53b, 8x4, 1x6) as RoI finished the day on 85 for 1 in its second innings and with a lead of 275 runs.
Jaiswal played some delightful shots, hitting Avesh Khan for three consecutive boundaries before lofting Ankit Kushwah for a six and four down the ground.
Earlier, MP resumed the day on 112 for three and was on the back foot immediately when Navdeep Saini breached overnight batter Harsh Gawli’s (54) defence ending his 114-run partnership with Dubey.
From 145 for five, Dubey and Saransh Jain (66) steadied things with a 96-run stand for the sixth wicket to help the home team avoid the follow-on.
Dubey, who started his innings with fluent drives through covers and down the ground on day two, had to play within himself on Friday against some tight bowling.
The 24-year-old was also the beneficiary of some poor catching by RoI fielders as he was dropped twice, first on 84 by the keeper Upendra Yadav off Narang in the last over before lunch.
Crucially, Dubey - who made a match-winning century in the Ranji Trophy final last year - got another reprieve on 99 when Mayank Agarwal dropped him at first slip off Saini, allowing him to complete a brace and get to his landmark.
For RoI, Narang was the best bowler on the day, with the off-spinner showing impeccable control over his length and creating chances.
He eventually bowled Dubey with a classical off-spinner’s delivery that spun in sharply from outside the off-stump before accounting for Jain, who also was dropped off his bowling.
- S Dipak Ragav