An interesting finish is on cards as Madhya Pradesh set Mumbai a tricky 280-run target with two days to go in their Ranji Trophy Group B match, here.
Madhya Pradesh bowled out Mumbai for 176 to take a 78-run first innings lead and then scored 201 in their second essay as 14 wickets fell on the second day of the contest.
Mumbai now have two full days at their disposal to knock off the required runs and bag six points but the batsmen have struggled to get big scores on this track.
Mumbai began this morning at 74 for six and thanks to some gritty bating by their lower-order they managed more than 100 runs before losing all wickets.
Iqbal Abdulla (21), Shardul Thakur (18), Vishal Dabholkar (16) and Ankush Jaiswal (20 not out) all contributed in their team's cause.
Jalaj Saxena (5/66) and Ankit Sharma (5/80) took five wickets each for the hosts.
Saxena then top-scored for MP by scoring 79 runs while opening the innings. Others who batted well were skipper Devendra Bundela (42) and Harpreet Singh (22).
Thakur (3/33) and Abdulla (3/53) shared six wickets between them to allow Mumbai make a comeback into the match.
The onus is now in Mumbai batsmen to cash in on the opportunity.
Brief Scores:
Madhya Pradesh 240 & 201 in 71.2 overs.(J Saxena 79, D Bundela 42; S Thakur 3/33)
Mumbai 1st innings: 162 all out in 38.1 overs(J Bista 27, I Abdulla 21; J Saxena /66).
