On top: Madhya Pradesh emerged the champion of the Buchi Babu tournament. 
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

 

Madhya Pradesh went about its job clinically on the final day to defeat Delhi by 250 runs and win the Take Sports All India Buchi Babu tournament at the Sri Ramakrishna College ground here on Monday.

Resuming at 129 for six with a lead of 298, MP needed to avoid a batting collapse. Fortunately, Sumit Kushwah and Aryan Deshmukh (46) batted out the first 12 overs as MP slowly stretched its lead.

After Kushwah was run out, MP was bowled out for 172 but still had a healthy lead of 341. Delhi’s left-arm spinner Shivank Vashisht (five for 43), who had four wickets on the third day, completed his five-for when he removed Adheer Pratap Singh.

Delhi, which had 65 overs to chase 342, needed a quick start to be in with a chance, but the top-order succumbed to left-arm pacer Kulwant Khejroliya’s fiery spell (4-1-12-3) within the first five overs.

Striking thrice

The 31-year-old, who moved from Delhi this year, struck thrice in his first three overs to leave his former team tottering at 17 for four and sealed the tie for MP. Khejroliya (three for 24) had Arpit Rana and skipper Himmat Singh caught behind while Jonty Sidhu flicked straight to mid-wicket.

After lunch, off-spinners Shubham Sharma and Adheer Pratap Singh (three for 22) spun a web around the Delhi batters who tried to take on the bowlers and kept losing wickets regularly. The match ended 20 minutes before the tea break when Yogesh Sharma was stumped off Adheer, with Hrithik Shokeen unable to bat due to a split webbing in his left hand.

MP coach Chandrakant Pandit said, “It was a great experience for the young, talented boys. The way they have played the entire tournament, they can take a lot of confidence and continue. There were a lot of good individual performances as well.”

Pandit, who guided the team to Ranji Trophy triumph in 2021-22, added that the senior team’s success is making the youngsters believe in themselves more to overcome challenging situations and turn things around.

The scores: Madhya Pradesh 370 & 172 in 75.5 overs (Aryan Deshmukh 46, Shivank Vashisht 5/43) bt Delhi 201 & 91 in 28.4 overs.

Special awards: Player of the final: Shivank Vashisht (Delhi); Player of the tournament: Sumit Kushwah (MPCA); Best batter: Aniket Verma (MPCA); Best bowler: Hrithik Shokeen (Delhi); Best all-rounder: Shubham Sharma (MPCA).

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.