Vidarbha 170 and 343 for six (Rathod 97*, Wadkar 77, Agarwal 2-68, Kartikeya 2-73) lead Madhya Pradesh 252 (Mantri 126, Umesh 3-40, Thakur 3-51) by 261 runs
Having conceded the first-innings lead, Vidarbha ended the second day on the again foot, trailing MP by 69 runs. However the trio of Mokhade, Wadkar and Rathod led Vidarbha’s restoration taking them to 343 for six at stumps on day three and in flip securing a lead of 261 runs in Nagpur.
Karun Nair adopted up his 63 within the first innings with a sprightly 43-ball 38, however when he fell clear bowled by Kulwant Khejroliya, Vidarbha had been nonetheless positioned precariously at 161 for five, with a lead of simply 79.
Rathod and captain Wadkar then steadily constructed up the runs for Vidarbha. The duo bought collectively within the forty second over and saved the MP bowlers at bay for 46.3 overs including 158 runs. By the point Wadkar fell for 77 late within the day, Vidarbha’s lead had swelled to 237. He struck eight fours in his 139-ball effort. He was finally dismissed by Agarwal.
Rathod, nonetheless, continued to roll on. It has been Ranji season for the left-hander. He didn’t play the preliminary video games however since returning to the facet, he has struck 4 fifties in eight innings. He cracked 12 fours in his 165-ball keep, and can hope to file his maiden first-class century come day 4.
Vidarbha had a little bit of a touch within the final two overs of the third day accumulating 24 runs, with Aditya Sarwate cracking an unbeaten 14 off eight balls with three fours. MP may solely handle 5 strikes on the third day, with Agarwal and Kartikeya selecting two wickets every.
