Himanshu Mantri’s century (126, 265b, 12x4, 1x6) served as the archetype of the steely resolve often associated with the longest format and laid the platform for Madhya Pradesh to pull ahead against Vidarbha on the second day of the first Ranji Trophy semifinal at the VCA Stadium (Civil Lines) here on Sunday.
The southpaw was handed a reprieve on 39 made the most of it, forging innings-steering partnerships with Sagar Solanki and Saransh Jain.
Vidarbha, chasing a deficit of 82 runs, lost Atharva Taide, who was given leg-before while shouldering arms to a delivery that seamed back in. Dhruv Shorey and Akshay Wakhare took the home side to 13 for one at stumps.
