Anubhav Agarwal's Six-Wicket Haul Propels Madhya Pradesh into Ranji Trophy Semi-Finals
Thrilling Victory Secures Madhya Pradesh's Spot in the Last Four
An exciting four-run victory here on Monday night saw Madhya Pradesh advance to the Ranji Trophy semi-finals as Anubhav Agarwal tore through Andhra's batting lineup with a six-wicket haul.
The bowlers controlled the game for much of the quarterfinal match at the Holkar Stadium, and Madhya Pradesh won in spite of a valiant effort from Andhra.
Madhya Pradesh, the 2021–22 champions, advanced to the semifinals with this victory, behind only Tamil Nadu.
On the fourth day, Andhra was bowled out for a meager 165 while needing to win with 170. Resuming at 95/4 with their senior batsman Hanuma Vihari on fire and 75 remaining to win, Agarwal guided Madhya Pradesh in yet another incredible comeback.
Agarwal terrorized the Andhra hitters in the second innings to deliver figures of 6/52 from 19 overs after taking three wickets in the first innings to assist Madhya Pradesh gain a crucial lead of 62 runs.
While Kumar Kartikeya and Saransh Jain each claimed one wicket, Kulwant Khejroliya amassed 2/40.
For Andhra, Hanuma Vihari top scored with 55 from 136 balls.
Hardik Tamore scored a superb 114 to help Mumbai overpower Baroda and end up with a 415-run advantage at 4pm on the fourth day. Mumbai wicketkeeper-batter Tamore deserves a great deal of credit for his massive ton after a hard-fought but crucial half-century in the first innings, particularly when he was moved to the opening position.
Tamore and Musheer Khan put up 124 for the third wicket after Tamore and Khan added 66.
Karnataka made a strong attempt to build up an intriguing final day in Nagpur.
With skipper Mayank Agarwal (61) and KV Aneesh (1) at the crease, Karnataka was 103 for one at the completion of their 371-run chase.
Combined scores
In Nagpur: Vidwath Kaverappa 6/61, Vysakh Vijayakumar 4/81, Dhruv Shorey 57, Karun Nair 34; Vidarbha 460 & 196. Karnataka 286 & 103/1 in 26 overs (R Samarth 40, Mayank Agarwal 61 at bat).
Mumbai 384 & 379/9 (Prithvi Shaw 87, Shams Mulani 54, Hardik Tamore 114; Bhargav Bhatt 7/142) is the location of the incident. Baroda (348).
Madhya Pradesh 234 & 107 in Indore. Andhra 172 & 165 (Anubhav Agarwal 6/52, Hanuma Vihari 55). MP prevailed by a score of four runs.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.
