By A Correspondent
Patna: Unbeaten centuries from captain Shubham Sharma (134*) and Venkatesh Iyer (118*) put Madhya Pradesh in a dominant position, as they amassed 381 for 4 in 88 overs on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy match against Bihar at the Moin-ul-Haq Stadium.
After winning the toss and choosing to bat, Madhya Pradesh opened with Yash Dubey and Himanshu Mantri. Bihar’s Sachin Kumar Singh struck early, dismissing Dubey for 21 with the team on 37. Mantri then combined with Rajat Patidar, forging a steady partnership. However, Bihar broke through again when Sachin Kumar Singh dismissed Mantri for 41.
Rajat Patidar looked set for a half-century but was caught by Piyush Kumar Singh off Shabbir Khan for 45, leaving Madhya Pradesh at 113. Bihar claimed another wicket when Himanshu Singh removed Harpreet Singh Bhatia for 20, bringing the score to 147. Following this, Sharma and Iyer took charge, leading their side to a commanding 381 for 4 at stumps, with Sharma unbeaten on 134 and Iyer on 118.
For Bihar, Shabbir Khan took 1 for 62, Sachin Kumar Singh claimed 2 for 137, and Himanshu Singh finished with 1 for 111.
Bihar made four changes to their playing XI, with Sakib Hussain, Raghavendra Pratap Singh, Jatin Yadav, and Anuj Raj omitted. Replacements Shabbir Khan, Sachin Kumar Singh, Ayush Lohruka, and Piyush Kumar Singh were brought into the team.
