Rajat adds sheen
Bengaluru, June 25
Rajat Patidar stamped his class with an authoritative century to put Madhya Pradesh on the cusp of a first Ranji Trophy triumph against 41-time champions Mumbai on a rain-hit fourth day of the summit clash here today.
Patidar scored 122 as Madhya Pradesh finished their first innings at 536, securing a first-innings lead of 162 runs.
At stumps, Mumbai reached 113/2 in 22 overs. Prithvi Shaw (44 off 52 balls) and Hardik Tamore (25 off 32), promoted up the order, showed positive intent but perished trying to find quick runs. Armaan Jaffer, who carried the momentum forward, was unbeaten on 30 off 34 balls.
With 95 overs left on the final day, there is very little chance of Mumbai winning this match. The wicket isn’t showing any signs of crumbling.
Patidar’s day
When the fourth day started, MP needed seven more runs to get the first innings lead but more important for Patidar was to play at least one session. He did that with minimum fuss. By the time Patidar was dismissed for 122 off 219 balls, Madhya Pradesh’s lead had gone past 100 runs.
Brief scores: Mumbai 374 & 113/2 (Shaw 44, Jaffer 30*); Madhya Pradesh 536 (Dubey 133, Patidar 122, Shubham 116; Mulani 5/173).
