Madhya Pradesh batters Shubham Sharma and Himanshu Mantri did exactly what Punjab had hoped to do in its first innings. On Tuesday, MP seized the lead with a classical century from Shubham (102 n.o., 210b, 9x4, 1x6) alongside Mantri’s 241-ball 89 to finish day two of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal on a high here at the Alur (3) ground.
Starting from overnight five for no loss, MP imperceptibly silenced the Punjab bowlers over three sessions and walked into stumps with Shubam and Rajat Patidar (20) unbeaten at 238 for two with a 19-run lead.
Openers Yash Dubey and Himanshu Mantri remained committed to their task of seeing off a potent Punjab new-ball attack in Sidharth Kaul and Baltej Singh. The seamers gave nothing away from either end nor did the batters flinch for a moment in the first 13 overs where Kaul (5-2-3-0) and Baltej (7-3-7-0) were at the top of their game.
