Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Madhya Pradesh on Friday won the second consecutive group-D league encounter of Syed Mushtaq Ali cricket trophy that kicked off on Thursday at Ferozeshah Kotla ground Delhi.

Half-century (not out) from opener Venkatesh Iyer and a three-wicket stroll by Avesh Khan slammed the Railways team, which tasted their second loss in the league consecutively.

Madhya Pradesh won the toss on Day-2 of tournament and chose to field. The decision turned out to be favourable as they restricted Railways to 97 for nine wickets. Railways suffered their first loss in the first ball when Avesh Khan opened for MP and bowled the former’s captain and opener Mrunal Devdhar out at zero.

Fresh from the confidence gained from IPL, Khan made his presence felt getting three important wickets in the top order of the team. Chasing the easy target, MP’s opener Venkatesh Iyer scored a massive half century off 41 balls, studded with five boundaries (3X4, 2X6) and remained not out.

Kuldeep Gehi, who opened with Iyer, hit 18 off 13 balls including two boundaries, one each. Three wickets down, captain Parth Sahani padded up to help Iyer, with six overs remaining. Sahani scored 23 off 13, hitting two sixes and a four, snatching the match away from Railways with 19 balls remaining.

Earlier, on the inaugural day, Madhya Pradesh had defeated Assam by six wickets in their first league encounter. Opting to bowl first, Madhya Pradesh restricted Assam to 103 for nine before eclipsing the target, reaching 105 for four in 14 overs.

Iyer (37) and Gehi (34) laid the foundation for the chase with a 65-run opening stand. Roshan Alam (3/20) picked up three wickets for Assam.

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