Opener Yash Dubey slammed an unbeaten double hundred as Madhya Pradesh crept towards an imposing first innings total against Kerala on Day 2 of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group ‘A’ encounter in Rajkot on Friday.
At stumps, MP were 474/5 after batting 180 overs. Dubey was batting on a painstaking 224. He consumed 526 deliveries for his career-best effort and hit 29 fours and a six.
The MP batters’ strategy seems to be simple--bat as long as possible and post a huge first innings total. Even if Kerala are not able to complete their first innings, MP know they will advance into the quarterfinals as they have a better run quotient than their rivals though the two teams are now tied on 13 points in the group. Kerala’s only chance to advance to the knockout seems to be to overhaul the total MP post in the first innings in a very short time.
Resuming at their overnight score of 218 for two, MP batters blunted the Kerala attack in the morning session. Runs came at a slow pace as the two didn’t offer any chance for the Kerala bowlers to make a comeback. Patidar went on to complete his century and looked on course for a big one before Jalaj Saxena dismissed him lbw for 142. He batted 327 balls and struck 23 fours.
The third wicket stand between Patidar and Dubey fetched MP 277 runs and they batted together for 107 overs.
Skipper Aditya Shrivastava couldn’t last long as Basil NP became the first Kerala pacer to pick up a wicket in the game. However, Dubey found an able ally in Akshat Raghuwanshi (50) as the former went on to complete his double hundred. The two put on 84 for the fourth wicket before Raghuwanshi got run out towards the fag end of the day.
Jalaj (2/83) was the most successful bowler for Kerala while pacers MD Nidheesh and Basil Thampi bowled 51 overs between them without taking a wicket on a placid track.
Brief scores: Madhya Pradesh 474/5 in 180 overs (Yash Dubey 224 not out, Rajat Patidar 142; Jalaj Saxena 2/83, Basil NP 1/71) vs Kerala
