Kumar Kartikeya’s 6-for dooms Punjab as MP cruise into Ranji Trophy semifinals

Kartikeya
scalped
6
for
50,
his
second-best
bowling
figures
in
First
Class
cricket,
with
another
spinner
Saransh
Jain
playing
perfect
second
fiddle,
claiming
4
for
100,
as
Punjab
folded
for
a
paltry
203
in
the
second
innings.

Punjab
resumed
play
on
day
four
at
120
for
5,
still
58
adrift
of
their
opponent
to
make
them
bat
again.

After
a
failure
from
the
top
order
once
again,
wicket-keeper
batter
Anmol
Malhotra
(34)
and
Siddharth
Kaul
(31)
began
the
day
cautiously
and
steadily,
and
it
appeared
the
duo
would
help
Punjab
take
a
respectable
lead.
However,
Kaul’s
patient
display
with
the
bat
ended
soon
after,
after
Saransh
Jain
got
the
crucial
breakthrough
–
the
former
was
stumped
by
MP
keeper
Himanshu
Mantri
–
after
attempting
to
step
out
and
haul
the
latter
over
midwicket.

Jain’s
dismissal
set
off
a
quick
fall
of
wickets
and
helped
MP
consolidate
their
strangehold
over
the
match,
with
both
Malhotra
and
Sanvir
Singh
(0)
departing
soon
after,
courtesy
a
brilliant
bowling
display
by
Kartikeya.

With
nothing
to
lose,
it
was
Mayank
Markande
(33),
who
batted
with
freedom,
taking
the
MP
bowlers
to
the
cleaners
with
one
four
and
three
sixes.
But
Markande’s
lone
battle
did
not
prove
to
be
enough
as
Jain
picked
up
the
wickets
of
both
tailenders
Vinay
Chaudhary
(2)
and
Baltej
Singh
(6)
to
finish
off
the
Punjab
innings.

With
only
26
to
chase
down,
MP
openers
Himanshu
Mantri
(9
not
out)
and
Yash
Dubey
(17)
achieved
the
target
without
much
fuss
in
just
5.1
overs,
helping
their
side
to
comfortably
book
a
place
in
the
last
four
of
the
elite
domestic
event.

Brief
Scores:

Punjab:
219
&
203
(Anmolpreet
Singh
31,
Mayank
Markande
33;
Kumar
Kartikeya
6
for
50).

Madhya
Pradesh:
397
&
26
for
0
(Shubham
Sharma
102,
Himanshu
Mantri
89,
Rajat
Patidar
85,
Akshat
Raghuwanshi
69;
Vinay
Chaudhury,
5/83).
M.
Pradesh
won
by
10
wickets