Avesh Khan took a wicket before the end of play on Sunday, with Vidarbha still behind by 69.
Himanshu Mantri, the wicketkeeper and opening batter, scored a patient 126 runs to help Madhya Pradesh take a crucial 82-run lead on the second day of the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Vidarbha. In reply to Vidarbha's 170 all out, he scored exactly half of MP's total of 252.
Vidarbha, after losing Atharva Taide to Avesh Khan, who took four wickets in the first innings, ended the day on 13 for 1, still trailing by 69.
Despite losing three wickets for just 12 runs in a middle-order collapse, Mantri held one end up firmly. On day two, MP began at 47 for 1 with Mantri and Harsh Gawli as the overnight batters. However, Yash Thakur broke the 61-run partnership with the score of 81, dismissing Gawli lbw for 25 in the 36th over. By the end of the 42nd over, Umesh Yadav had removed captain Shubham Sharma for 1, while Thakur also dismissed Venkatesh Iyer without scoring.
Mantri was dropped at slip on 38 by Karun Nair, and he went on to score a half-century off 123 balls before Iyer fell. He took his time to rebuild from 93 for 4 with Sagar Solanki. Together, they added 52 runs for the fifth wicket before Thakur ran Solanki out for 26 in the 59th over.
Mantri then had Saransh Jain for the company. In an unusual display of aggression, Mantri hit offspinner Akshay Wakhare for consecutive boundaries in the 62nd over, while Jain opened his account with a six. Although Jain took 15 deliveries to score his first run, he picked up the pace afterwards.
Mantri completed his sixth first-class century in the 71st over, as both batsmen steadily surpassed Vidarbha's first-innings total of 170. MP, however, lost a string of wickets in quick succession, the last five of which fell for a mere 38 runs from their 218-run total. The slide began when Wakhare dismissed Jain for 30, who had the second-highest score after Mantri's century, before also getting rid of Mantri to break his resistance.
Aditya Sarwate, Thakur, and Yadav each took a wicket to dismiss MP's tail.