Madhya Pradesh went about its job clinically on the final day to defeat Delhi by 250 runs and win the Take Sports All India Buchi Babu tournament at the Sri Ramakrishna College ground here on Monday.
Resuming at 129 for six with a lead of 298, MP needed to avoid a batting collapse. Fortunately, Sumit Kushwah and Aryan Deshmukh (46) batted out the first 12 overs as MP slowly stretched its lead.
After Kushwah was run out, MP was bowled out for 172 but still had a healthy lead of 341. Delhi’s left-arm spinner Shivank Vashisht (five for 43), who had four wickets on the third day, completed his five-for when he removed Adheer Pratap Singh.
Delhi, which had 65 overs to chase 342, needed a quick start to be in with a chance, but the top-order succumbed to left-arm pacer Kulwant Khejroliya’s fiery spell (4-1-12-3) within the first five overs.
Striking thrice
The 31-year-old, who moved from Delhi this year, struck thrice in his first three overs to leave his former team tottering at 17 for four and sealed the tie for MP. Khejroliya (three for 24) had Arpit Rana and skipper Himmat Singh caught behind while Jonty Sidhu flicked straight to mid-wicket.
After lunch, off-spinners Shubham Sharma and Adheer Pratap Singh (three for 22) spun a web around the Delhi batters who tried to take on the bowlers and kept losing wickets regularly. The match ended 20 minutes before the tea break when Yogesh Sharma was stumped off Adheer, with Hrithik Shokeen unable to bat due to a split webbing in his left hand.
MP coach Chandrakant Pandit said, “It was a great experience for the young, talented boys. The way they have played the entire tournament, they can take a lot of confidence and continue. There were a lot of good individual performances as well.”
Pandit, who guided the team to Ranji Trophy triumph in 2021-22, added that the senior team’s success is making the youngsters believe in themselves more to overcome challenging situations and turn things around.
The scores: Madhya Pradesh 370 & 172 in 75.5 overs (Aryan Deshmukh 46, Shivank Vashisht 5/43) bt Delhi 201 & 91 in 28.4 overs.
Special awards: Player of the final: Shivank Vashisht (Delhi); Player of the tournament: Sumit Kushwah (MPCA); Best batter: Aniket Verma (MPCA); Best bowler: Hrithik Shokeen (Delhi); Best all-rounder: Shubham Sharma (MPCA).