Rest of India 484 and 85 for 1 (Jaiswal 58*, Abhimanyu 26*) lead Madhya Pradesh 294 (Dubey 109, Jain 66, Narang 4-65, Saini 3-56) by 275 runs
Services offspinner
Pulkit Narang picked up a four-wicket haul to help dismiss Madhya Pradesh for 294 and hand Rest of India a first-innings lead of 190 on the third day of the Irani Cup in Gwalior. Mumbai batter
Yashasvi Jaiswal followed up his first-innings double-hundred with a 46-ball half-century to swell Rest of India's overall lead to 275 at stumps. Jaiswal was unbeaten on 58 along with Abhimanyu Easwaran, who made 26 not out off 51 balls.
From an overnight 112 for 3, MP fought their way towards 300, thanks in no small part to
Yash Dubey, who scored his fourth first-class ton. However, his dismissal by Narang sparked a collapse as MP lost their last five wickets for 53 runs. Narang also accounted for
Saransh Jain, who was the second-highest scorer for MP with 66 off 150 balls. Jain and Dubey added 96 for the sixth wicket before Narang ran through the lower order.
Earlier in the day,
Harsh Gawli converted his overnight 47 into a half-century, but
Navdeep Saini cut his innings short at 54 off 149 balls. Saini, who is working his way back from injury, proved his fitness and form by taking 3 for 56 in 20 overs. As for Narang, he ended with 4 for 65 in 25.5 overs.
Rest of India then had a wobble at the start of their second innings, losing their captain Mayank Agarwal for a duck to left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya. However, Jaiswal and Abhimanyu struck up an unbroken 84-run stand for the second wicket off 102 balls to help their team re-establish command over MP. Jaiswal struck eight fours and a six, including three in a row off fast bowler Avesh Khan in the fourth over. Jaiswal was also severe on Ankit Kushwah, taking him for 19 off 13 balls.