Published: Mar 02, 2019, 02:33 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 02, 2019, 02:31 PM (IST)
A clinical performance by Madhya Pradesh saw them register a 50-run win over Sikkim in Round 7 match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Saturday. Madhya Pradesh were buoyed by a series of small yet crucial knocks, including top scorer Abhishek Bhandari’s 46 which guided them to 164, in defence of which they bowled Sikkim out for 114.
The crux of Madhya Pradesh’s 164 was formed by their top order. Openers Naman Ojha and Rajat Patidar added 54 in 6.4 overs before both batsmen fell in quick succession to Pritam Nirala. Parth Sahani and Bhandari got together and stitched an 81-run partnership that took the total to 139 in in the 16th over.
With MP eyeing at least 180, seamers Ishwar Chaudhary and Bipul Sharma brought Sikkim back sharing five wickets between them. MP lost their final six wickets for just 25 runs and were stopped in their tracks, with Chaudhary returning team’s best figures of 2 for 24.
In reply, Sikkim were all over the mark getting reduced to 68 for 5 with the only notable partnership – between Milind Kumar and Bipul Sharma – 36 runs for the fourth wicket. Once the association ended, the wheels came off. Sikkim slumped to lose their final seven wickets for 50 runs with Kumar Kartikeya and Mihir Hirwani snaring three wickets each.
Brief Scores: Madhya Pradesh 164 for 8 (Abhishek Bhandari 46, Parth Sahani 36; Ishwar Chaudhary 3 for 24) beat Sikkim 114 all out in 20 overs (Bipul Sharma 24, Milind Kumar 23; Kumar Kartikeya 3/10) by 50 runs.
