MP play safe to make final

Hyderabad, April 13: The final day8217;s play turned out to be anti-climax. All expectations of a thrilling finish ended tamely as Madhya Pradesh, who had a chance of an outright win target 236, settled to play it safe. MP, by virtue of their 57-run first innings lead over Hyderabad, made an historic, maiden entry into the Ranji Trophy final. They will now clash with holders Karnataka in Bangalore in the five-day final from April 19.

8220;I never wanted take any chances. I didn8217;t want to fool around with this game,8221; said MP skipper Chandrakant Pandit on his decision to call off the play after the eighth mandatory over. MP were then 203-3 and needed just 33 runs for victory in the remaining seven overs. 8220;In my 19 years playing experience, I have seen the game change in two overs. I wanted to play it safe,8221; said a relieved Pandit.

Scoreboard
Hyderabad 1st innings: 282.
Madhya Pradesh 1st innings: 337.
Hyderabad 2nd innings: 292.
Madhya Pradesh 2nd innings: CPSahu b Raju 2, JP Yadav c Vinay b Kanwaljit 83, Harvinder Sodhi lbw Manohar 10, Raja Ali not out 44, D Bundela not out 54; Extras b5, lb2, nb2, w1 10.

Total for 3 wickets in 84 overs 203.

Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-83, 3-121.

Bowling: Raju 24-7-62-1, NP Singh 6-1-18-0, Kanwaljit 29.3-8-52-1, R Sridhar 17.3-3-32-0, Manohar 5-1-16-1, Pratap 2-0-16-0.