MP's Shubham Sharma attains this feat in Ranji Trophy 2024/25
What's the story
Madhya Pradesh took the driver's seat in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match against Kerala on day two.
The match, being played at the Greenfield International Stadium, witnessed MP's bowlers bundling out Kerala for a paltry 167 runs in just over a session. This made the contest a second-innings battle.
Although they trailed by seven runs in their first innings, MP ended the day at a solid 140/2.
Shubham Sharma, who is unbeaten on 46, attained a special feat.
Stellar performance
Patidar and Shubham shine for MP
Rajat Patidar spearheaded MP's response with an unbeaten half-century, redeeming himself from the first-innings failure.
Team captain Shubham also displayed his form by coming close to a second 50 in the match (46*).
The duo's 80-run stand for the third wicket tilted the game in MP's favor.
In MP's first innings score of a paltry 160 runs, Shubham scored a valiant 54. He faced 134 balls and hit three fours.
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Shubham has shone in Ranji Trophy 2024/25
During his innings, Shubham crossed the 700-run mark in this Ranji season, becoming only the second player to do so after Hyderabad's Tanmay Agarwal. His 54 and 46* takes him to 705 runs from six matches (10 innings) at 100.71. He owns two tons and three fifties. Meanwhile, Tanmay owns 792 runs.
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Shubham is closing in on 4,000 FC runs
As per ESPNcricinfo, playing his 65th First-Class match, Shubham has raced to 3,907 runs at close to 41. He is 93 shy of the 4,000-run mark. He has 10 tons and 21 fifties.
Bowling prowess
MP bowlers exploit conditions to dismantle Kerala
Earlier in the day, MP's fast bowlers Avesh Khan and Aryan Pandey exploited dewy conditions to rip through Kerala's top order.
The home team lost four wickets in the first seven overs for a mere eight runs.
Despite a counter-attacking partnership between Salman Nizar and Mohammed Azharuddeen, MP added three more wickets, including that of Salman, shattering Kerala's hopes of an easy first-innings lead.
Match dynamics
Kerala's struggle and MP's comeback
Aditya Sarwate and Baba Aparajith pushed Kerala past MP's total, despite Aparajith battling a hamstring tear.
However, their efforts weren't enough to save the rest of the Kerala batting line-up from a collapse.
This paved the way for MP batters to shift the balance of the game in their favor.
The third day will be crucial in deciding which team gains an upper hand in this tightly contested match.