Rajasthan looked set to win their Group B Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh after reaching 77 for three in a chase of 148 against the hosts on the third and penultimate day of the match here today.
Overnight 121 for two, Madhya Pradesh were all out for 314, courtesy Naman Ojha's 137-run knock which came off 204 deliveries and included 20 fours and three sixes.
But the second innings revival could not make up for the hosts' collapse in the first essay (115 all out) as Rajasthan were left to chase just 148 runs.
The loss of a couple of early wickets was hardly a dampener for the visiting side which needs 71 more runs to seal the victory tomorrow.
At stumps, Robin Bist (39) was at the crease and would be joined by skipper Hrishikesh Kanitkar tomorrow after Vineet Saxena (29) just before stumps.
Ishwar Pandey took both the Rajasthan wickets which fell today.
Earlier, Madhya Pradesh batting collapsed after a solid showing by the top half of the line-up.
Opener Jalaj Saxena (65) and Ojha combined to put together 86 runs for the second wicket. Saxena's 65 came off 88 deliveries and included 13 boundaries.
Later skipper Devendra Bundela contributed 54 runs off 115 balls even as the rest of the team failed to come good.
For Rajasthan, Rituraj Singh picked four for 74 in 23.3 overs. Pacer Pankaj Singh picked up three wickets for 82 runs in 26 overs.
Brief Scores:
Madhya Pradesh: 115 and 314
Rajasthan: 282 and 77/3 in 22.4 overs (Robin Bist 39, Ishwar Pandey 2/28).
