By Mumbai vs Tamil Nadu: Shardul Thakur’s Century Gives Mumbai the Edge
Mumbai took control of the Ranji Trophy semifinal against Tamil Nadu on the second day, thanks to a magnificent hundred from Shardul Thakur, his first in First-Class cricket. Starting the day at 45/2, Mumbai faced a tough challenge from Tamil Nadu captain Sai Kishore, who picked up a five-wicket haul. At one point, Mumbai were struggling at 106/7. However, Thakur’s heroic innings, comprising 13 fours and 4 sixes, turned the tide in Mumbai’s favor. He was well supported by Hardik Tamore and Tanush Kotian as Mumbai reached 353/9 at stumps, taking a lead of 207 runs.
Vidarbha vs Madhya Pradesh: Himanshu Mantri’s Century Gives MP the Lead
In the other semifinal, Madhya Pradesh gained a crucial 82-run lead over Vidarbha in the first innings, largely due to a splendid century by opener Himanshu Mantri. Starting the day on 26, Mantri played a composed innings, scoring 126 with support from Harsh Gawil, Sagar Solanki, and Saransh Jain. Despite a strong bowling performance by Umesh Yadav and Yash Thakur, MP managed to reach 252. Vidarbha, batting for the second time, lost Atharva Taide early and face a challenging task on the third day.
Brief Scores:
- Mumbai: 353/9 (Thakur 109, Kotian 74; Kishore 6-97) lead Tamil Nadu 146 by 207 runs.
- Madhya Pradesh: 252 (Mantri 126; Umesh 3-40, Thakur 3-51) lead Vidarbha 170 & 13/1 by 69 runs.
