Bengaluru, June 22 (Agency) Inform Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed his fourth consecutive fifty as Madhya Pradesh reduced Mumbai to 248 for 5 on Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy finals at Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Wednesday. Jaiswal continued from where he had left. He scored 78 runs off 163 balls, cracking seven boundaries and a six after Mumbai won the toss and opted to bat. The Mumbai opener had smashed a magnificent 103 in the quarterfinal against Uttarakhand before his twin centuries helped Mumbai beat Uttar Pradesh in the semifinals. He had notched up 100 in the first innings and a superb 181 in the second. Openers Prithvi Shaw and Jaiswal scruffed the shine of the new ball and added a 87-run partnership for the first wicket, but the Mumbai skipper fell short of his fifty by three runs.
Jaiswal was looking ominous even as he lost a couple of batsmen at the other end, but he raced past his fifty and looked to get his fourth consecutive century of the season, before he got out in the second session. Madhya Pradesh picked one more wicket of Hardik Tamore as half of the Mumbai side were back in the pavilion. In form Sarfaraz Khan is going great guns and is batting on 40 along with batting allrounder Sams Mulani who made 12 off 43 balls. Sarfaraz curbed his natural instincts and played as per the situation. Madhya Pradesh came back strongly in the second session as they picked up three wickets that included a well-settled Jaiswal. Kumar Kartikeya removed Armaan Jaffer for 26 and Saransh Jain sent back Suved Parkar for 18, while Jaiswal (78 off 163 balls 7×4 1×6) was claimed by Anubhav Agarwal. Soon Mumbai were reduced to 185 for 4 from 120 for 1 in the span of nearly 34 overs.
Madhya Pradesh would have had the fifth wicket as well as an LBW shout against Sarfaraz was turned down by the umpire. The game hung in balance as Mumbai departed for tea at 201 for 4 with Sarfaraz and Tamore at the crease. Tamore’s innings was scratchy and managed to get 24 off 44 balls. Madhya Pradesh used just four bowlers who gave their best. Jain and Agarwal bagged two wickets each, while Kartikeya botched up runs for Mumbai. Brief Scores: Mumbai 1st innings 248/5 in 90 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 78, Prithvi Shaw 47; Saransh Jain 2/31, Anubhav Agarwal 2/56) against Madhya Pradesh.