New Delhi :
In 2012, Madhya Pradesh came close to beating the might of Mumbai at the Holkar stadium but Zaheer Khan and the likes of Wasim Jaffer, Abhishek Nayar and Kaustubh Pawar denied Madhya Pradesh the chance for glory as they lost by seven runs. Seven years later, the Holkar stadium was witness to another heartbreak as Yusuf Pathan and Krunal Pandya held their nerve to help Baroda beat Madhya Pradesh by one wicket in the Ranji Trophy clash on Friday.
In a low-scoring match that had twists and turns consistently, Madhya Pradesh were bowled out for 125 with Anureet Singh, Lukman Meriwala and Soyeb Sopriya taking three wickets apiece. Only Yash Dubey stood tall with 48 and he got assistance only from wicketkeeper Himanshu Mantri. In response, Yusuf Pathan and Krunal Pandya shared a vital 96-run stand to rescue Baroda after an early burst from Avesh Khan. Krunal hit 64 while Yusuf chipped in with 76 as Baroda eyed a big lead. However, Mihir Hirwani took four quick wickets to run through the tail as Baroda ended with 222, a lead of 97 runs.
Madhya Pradesh put up a spirited performance in the second innings with Rameez Khan and Anand Bais putting up a 79-run opening stand. Ajay Rohera, who hit 267 on debut last year, played a vital knock of 64. However, Baroda kept on taking wickets with Meriwala taking three wickets and two wickets apiece from Abhimanyu Rajput, Krunal and Vishnu Solanki. Avesh hit 28 as Madhya Pradesh a fighting chance as Baroda needed 174 for the win.
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Kedar Devdhar and Aditya Waghmode gave Baroda a good start but Madhya Pradesh were boosted by Avesh, Gaurav Yadav and Kuldeep Sen's bowling. On the final day, Baroda needed 114/4 but Avesh removed both Krunal and Yusuf within three balls and at 157/8, the match was poised on a knife-edge. Rajput and Anureet kept going but when Anureet and Sopariya fell, Baroda needed five runs to win and Madhya Pradesh needed one wicket. Rajput took a single off Avesh and the winning runs was hit by Rajput off Kuldeep Sen as Baroda won a thriller. With this win, Baroda secured six points while Madhya Pradesh did not gain a single point.
