Riding on Mavi’s all-roundbrilliance, UP tighten hold

Kanpur: Shivam Mavi's brilliance with both bat and ball put Uttar Pradesh in the driver's seat, as the hosts moved closer to their first outright win of the season. They reduced Nagaland to 77/4 at stumps on the second day after posting a mammoth 535/6 in their first innings of the Ranji Trophy match at Green Park Stadium on Sunday.Resuming at 301/1, Aryan Juyal (140) and Madhav Kaushik added 31 runs to the overnight score before Juyal was caught at long-off by Ronit More off Imliwati while attempting a big hit. Skipper Karan Sharma (17), Aaradhya Yadav (14) and Priyam Garg (4) then failed to convert their starts, and when Rongsen Jonathan bowled Prashant Veer for a duck, UP had slipped to 394/6, losing five key wickets for just 94 runs. Mavi then arrived and turned the innings around, racing to a century in no time. He took on the Nagaland attack with clean hitting, smashing 10 boundaries and 5 sixes in an 87-ball 101. The moment he completed his century, captain Karan Sharma declared the innings, leaving Madhav Kaushik unbeaten on a well-crafted 185. In reply, Nagaland's batting faltered against UP's disciplined bowling. They still trail by 458 runs and need another 338 to avoid the follow-on, with only six wickets in hand. Aquib Khan drew first blood, having Nzanthung Y. Mozhui (2) caught behind by Juyal. Mavi then dismantled the middle order, accounting for Sedezhalie (15) and Hem (8), both caught behind. Left-arm spinner Shivam Sharma further dented the innings by bowling Chetan Bist (7). Opener Nischal Dega held firm with an unbeaten 42 off 69 balls, while captain R. Jonathan remained on zero at stumps. UP coach Arvind Kapoor said, "We had planned to add another 250 runs by lunch and one hour afterwards, and we reached close to that." He praised Mavi's batting for being exceptionally good and said that the declaration was timed specifically to allow Mavi to complete his hundred. Asked about Kaushik missing out on a double century, Kapoor said, "We had already decided on the declaration time and stuck to it. We want enough time to take 20 wickets in two-and-a-half days. The wicket is good for both batting and bowling, and hopefully our bowlers will finish the job." Brief score UP first innings (overnight 301 for 1): 6 for 535 declared (Abhishek Goswami 55, Madhav Kaushik 185 not out, Aryan Juyal 140, Karan Sharma 17, Aaradhya Yadav 14, Priyam Garg 4, Prashant Veer 1, Shivam Mavi 101 not out; Imliwati 2 for 93, R Jonathan 4 for 150) Nagaland first innings: 4 for 77 (Nzanthung Y Mozhui 2, Nischal Dega 42 not out, Sedezhalie 15, Hem 8, Chetan Bist 7, R Jonathan 0 not out; Aquib Khan 1 for 17, Shivam Mavi 2 for 17, Shivam Sharma 1 for 7).