Sumit Kushwah (MP, 100 batting).
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Madhya Pradesh opener Sumit Kushwah put his team in the driver’s seat with a well-crafted, unbeaten century (100 batting, 269b, 10×4, 1×6) against Delhi on the opening day of the Take Sports All India Buchi Babu tournament final here on Friday.

Electing to bat, MP finished on a strong 271 for three, thanks to valuable half-centuries from opener Arham Aqueel (65) and later Aniket Verma (68). It was the second century in as many games for the 21-year-old after he scored one against TNCA XI in the semifinals in Dindigul last week. He looked compact in his defence and took his time in slowly accumulating runs.

On an easy batting surface at the Sri Ramakrishna College ground, MP had no hesitation in opting to bat first, and Aqueel led the way with two crisp cover drives in the first over off left-arm pacer Siddhant Sharma. Kushwah and the left-handed Aqueel set the platform with a 110-run opening-wicket stand, with the latter playing some clean drives through the off-side.

Later, Aniket Verma boosted the scoring rate as he took on the spinners by lofting them down the ground repeatedly in a 115-run stand for the third wicket with Kushwah. In the final session, Kushwah played with more freedom, cutting and pulling the spinners whenever they erred in length.

It was a hard toil for the Delhi bowlers, and things could have been different had Arpit Rana held on to a sharp chance at short-leg off Shokeen when Kushwah was on 53.

The scores: Madhya Pradesh 271/3 in 89 overs (Arham Aqueel 65, Sumit Kushwah 100 batting, Aniket Verma 68) vs Delhi. Toss: MP.

Madhya Pradesh and Delhi will vie for honours in the Take Sports all-India Buchi Babu tournament when the two sides meet in the final at the Sri Ramakrishna College ground here starting on Friday.

Both the teams took contrasting routes to reach the summit clash, with Delhi posting outright wins in its last league match against Jammu & Kashmir and in the semifinals against Chhattisgarh.

Madhya Pradesh, meanwhile, won its opening fixture against Baroda before edging ahead on the first-innings lead in the second league game against Haryana and in similar fashion against TNCA XI in the last-four contest.

Challenging situations

The two sides have shown the ability to turn things around from challenging situations, like when MP forced a result against Baroda after conceding the first-innings lead.

The team has not relied on one individual batter with as many as four centurions doing the job so far.

Five-wicket hauls

In the bowling department, spinners Adheer Pratap Singh and Sagar Solanki had five-wicket hauls in the victory against Baroda in the fourth innings.

For Delhi, skipper Himmat Singh set the foundation for the tournament with a sensational unbeaten 232 along with Jonty Sidhu’s 121 in reply to Mumbai’s mammoth first-innings total of 619 for seven declared.

The match ended with neither team taking the first innings lead as Delhi finished on 529 for eight, ensuring each team took one point. Off-spinner Hrithik Shokeen has been the best bowler with 13 scalps.

While both teams are evenly matched, MP will feel it has an edge as it looks more consistent.

At the same time, Delhi’s batting collapse in the third innings (80 all out) against Chhattisgarh in the semifinals showed an area of vulnerability.