RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh were in the driver’s seat against Maharashtra in the multi-day Col CK Nayudu Trophy as middle order batsman Sanjeet Desai (121 off 236, 11 fours, two sixes) registered his second consecutive hundred to guide the team to a healthy 134 first innings lead. In the previous match against Bihar, Sanjeet had scored 139 runs.
Opener Sanidhya Hurkat also hit a crucial half-century (62 off 87). Similarly, U M Tiwari (61 off 125) and Harsh Sahu (45 off 97) made healthy contributions in the tail.
Winning the toss in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh opted to bat first and the batsmen responded to the decision by putting 378 runs on the scoreboard in their first innings. A S Thenga claimed four scalps of Chhattisgarh while A R Nishad and Sohan Jamale took three and two wickets respectively.
In response, Maharashtra was bundled out for 244, giving Chhattisgarh a healthy 134 runs first innings lead. After displaying his skill with the bat, Tiwari claimed three important wickets to restrict Maharashtra to 244. Gagandeep Singh claimed two wickets for Chhattisgarh.
With 134 runs lead, Chhattisgarh added 158 for the loss of one wicket at stumps on day three on Tuesday, taking the total lead to 292. Opener Aditya Singh was batting on 69 off 128 while P M Yadav was unbeaten on 76 off 103.
