INDORE: Wicketkeeper-batter Himanshu Mantri hit a fine century (126, 194 balls, 16 fours, 2 sixes) in the second innings to help defending champions Madhya Pradesh make 257 for 5 declared and set Vidarbha a target of 407 in their Ranji Trophy Group D match on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, the MP bowlers polished off the Vidarbha tail with the addition of just 13 more runs to their overnight score of 147.
Pace bowler Avesh Khan added the scalps of Nachiket Bhute (12) and Lalit Yadav (4) to finish with a seven-wicket haul. He had earlier on Wednesday rocked the Vidarbha top-order.
Opener S R Ramaswamy (58, 189 balls, 5 fours) fought a single-handed battle before being the last man to be dismissed. He was caught by Puneet Datey off Kumar Kartikeya Singh's bowling.
In the second innings, Mantri batted well to power the MP charge. His 120-run stand for the second wicket with Shubam Sharma (55) gave the impetus. Later, he was involved in a half-century partnership with Rajat Patidar (38) to enable the team get a move-on.
Vidarbha ended the third day at 13 for 1 with Avesh Khan accounting for S R Ramaswamy (6), having him trapped LBW.
Meanwhile in Valsad, Punjab thrashed Gujarat by 380 runs. The host team's batting faltered for a second time, folding for 138 in pursuit of 519 for a win with only Manan Hingrajia (74 not out), Priyesh Patel (37) and Karan Patel (25) making double figures.
At Surat, Railways crushed Jammu and Kashmir by an innings and 73 runs to pick up seven points.
Brief scores:
