MP defeat Saurashtra by 218 runs

Madhya Pradesh translated their overwhelming superiority over Saurashtra into an outright victory by 218 runs to enter the semifinal of the Cooch Behar Trophy at Jamshedpur on Friday.

Already virtually assured of a berth into the penultimate round at close of play on Thursday, MP did not relax but pressed for a win. Resuming their second innings at 249 for nine, they were all out for 262 on the final morning. The tenth wicket stand between No 10 AN Sharma and No 11 Ashok Sharma was worth 50 runs. Dhruv took the last wicket to finish with seven for 76 off 42 overs.

Set a virtually impossible victory target of 395 runs Saurashtra were dismissed for 216 in 60.5 overs. Only MJ Mehta (48) and skipper US Karavadra (46) showed some semblance of a fight. M Mishra (5 for 21) and Ashok Sharma (4 for 43) caused the damage.