Ranji Trophy 2015-16: Madhya Pradesh struggle at 261/9 against Andhra on Day 1

Indore: Harpreet Singh (81) and Rameez Khan (73 not out) scored a half-century each to help Madhya Pradesh reach 261 for nine against Andhra on the first day of their Group B Ranji Trophy cricket match on Tuesday. Opting to bat, MP lost three wickets cheaply to be struggling at 39 for three before Harpreet came to team’s rescue. Harpreet and Rameez put on a crucial 105-run stand for the fifth wicket to take the team to a respectable position. But Harpreet’s dismissal triggered a collapse and MP suddenly lost four wickets with an addition of just 23 runs to the total. UPDATES: Madhya Pradesh vs Andhra, Ranji Trophy 2015-16, Group B match, Day 1 at Indore

From 197 for five, the hosts were reeling at 220 for nine before Rameez and Ishwar Pandey ensured that MP was not bundled out on the day. At stumps, Rameez’s unbeaten knock included eight fours and a six, while Pandey was not on 20. For Andhra, Bandaru Ayyappa was the pick of the wickets with figures of five for 59.

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Madhya Pradesh will be wary of that aspect. In their previous game against Railways who themselves have not been in supreme form Andhra conceded an outright victory to the opponents. Railways won by a convincing 148 runs in that game. The Andhra bowlers did well on both occassions to keep Railways down to relatively low totals but were let down by their batsmen. Sneha Kishore took a fifer in the first innings and Bodavarapu repeated the feat for Andhra in the next innings.

Madhya Pradesh 261 for 9 (Harpreet Singh 81, Rameez Khan 73*; Bandaru Ayyappa 5 for 59) vs Andhra.