Ranji: MP 178/5 against Bengal on day 2

Gwalior, Nov 11 (UNI) Unbeaten knocks of 76 by skipper Rishikesh Kanitkar and middle-order batsman Brajesh Tomar (51) aided Madhya Pradesh reach 178/5 in their first innings in reply to Bengal's 21O all out on the second day of a four-day Plate Group 'B' Ranji trophy encounter at the Captain Roop Singh stadium here.

The hosts need another 33 with 5 wickets in hand to take a vital first-innings lead.

Resuming at the overnight score of 4/1, Madhya Pradesh's Naman Ojha and Sunil Dholpure -- who had not opened their account yesterday -- could not last long. While Ojha managed to score 1, Dholpure went for a duck.

Devendra Bundela (15) and Jatin Saxena (9) also failed to contribute significantly.

But Kanitkar and Tomar played sensibly till the end to guide their team to a safe position. Kanitkar sent the cherry hurtling to the rope 10 times and Tomar smashed nine boundaries.

For Bengal, medium-pacer Ashok Dinda scalped 3 batsmen while giving away 49 runs and his pace partner Ranadeb Bose bagged a wicket off 38 runs. Another wicket came in the form of a run-out.

Brief scores: Bengal (1st innings) 210 all out Madhya Pradesh (1st innings) 178/5 (R Kantikar 76 n o, B Tomar 51 n o; A Dinda 49/3).

UNI XC-BDG AC 2058