Srinagar, Jan 9: After sparkling with the ball, Lone Nasir Muzaffar showed brilliance with the willow and alongwith Shubham Singh Pundir scored half-centuries and made a big partnership of 112 runs to guide Jammu and Kashmir to a vital first innings lead against formidable Madhya Pradesh in the ongoing U-25 CK Nayudu Trophy at MPCA Ground-1, Nimkheda, today.
Now, after conceding a slender first innings lead of 31 runs to J&K, Madhya Pradesh were 68/2 in their second essay at the draw of stumps on day-2 today.
First innings centurion Rishabh Chouhan was unbeaten on 22 runs and Sumit Kushwah was at the crease on 9 runs.
For J&K, Lone Nasir Muzaffar who took a 6-wicket haul in the first innings claimed one wicket and Mujtaba Yousuf also bagged one wicket.
Earlier, resuming from an overnight score of 31/0, J&K lost three quick wickets in the form of Arya Thakur (18), Kawal Preet Singh (4) and skipper Kanhaiya Wadhawan (5) before Shubham Pundir and Lone Nasir Muzaffar consolidated the innings and made a vuable partnership of 112 runs to help Jammu and Kashmir gain a vital first innings lead. Pundir scored 68 runs off 112 balls, studded with 12 boundaries, while Nasir contributed 59 runs off 94 balls including 8 fours and one six. Ranjit Singh scored un eaten 36 runs off 52 balls with 7 boundaries, while Jiyaad contributed 29 runs off 59 balls, studded with 5 fours.
For Madhya Pradesh, Ritesh Shakya and Ishan Afridi took 3 wickets each, while Kamal Tripathi bagged 2 wickets and Ritwik Diwan claimed one wicket.
Now, with two days of play left in the match and Madhya Pradesh having 16 runs and 8 wickets in their kitty, the match is hanging in the balance. A target of something over 150 runs will be a tough ask as J&K will be batting in the fourth innings of the match and will have to deal with wear and tear of the surface.