Ranji Trophy semi-final: Rajat Patidar's 63 not out gives MP control vs Bengal, Mumbai dominate UP

Madhya Pradesh are well placed to reach their first Ranji Trophy final since the 1998-99 season as Rajat Patidar's solid 63 not out put them in a position of strength at Stumps on Day 3 of their semi-final outing against Bengal in Alur, Bengaluru on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Mumbai are in the driver's seat in their semi-final against Uttar Pradesh, having sealed a 346-run lead with 9 wickets to spare in their second innings at the Just Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.

Madhya Pradesh rode on Rajat Patidar's unbeaten 63 to head to Stumps with a lead of 231 runs. MP were 163 for 2 as Patidar and captain Aditya Shrivastava (31 not out) kept the Bengal bowlers at bay.

Patidar, who was in fine form for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2022 after having hit



a hundred and 2 fifties, showcased solidity and composure on a crucial day as Bengal looked to put pressure on the MP batting unit despite having fallen short of their first innings total.

Coming onto bat after Shubham Sharma (22) retired hurt after being hit on his arm by an Akash Deep delivery just before tea, the MP skipper didn’t look fluent but he hung in there, giving perfect company to Patidar in their unbroken 73-run association.

Patidar, on the other hand, mixed caution with aggression as Bengal bowlers struggled to get breakthroughs and MP slowly tilted the momentum in their favour in the final session of the day. There was hardly any pressure from the Bengal bowlers on a spread-out field as the duo cleverly collected ones and twos to take pressure off them.