Kanpur: Mumbai, holding a massive first-innings lead of 498 runs against Uttar Pradesh, opted to bat again instead of enforcing the follow-on and reached 183 for 4 in their second innings, stretching the overall lead to 681 runs on the third day of the Vijay Merchant Trophy Under-16 match at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in Anand on Tuesday.Earlier, UP resumed their first innings at the overnight score of 10 for 1 but were bundled out for 135. Medium pacer Advait Bhat was the chief destroyer, returning impressive figures of 5 for 36. Vedant Gore and Siddhant Bot chipped in with two wickets apiece as six UP batsmen failed to reach double figures.
Arush Gupta top-scored for UP with a fighting 54. He shared a 43-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Anay Awasthi, which turned out to be the highest stand of the innings.
Arush faced 74 balls and struck 11 boundaries. Anay Awasthi (13), Hitesh Kumar (14) and Aarav Tyagi (11) were the other UP batsmen to reach double digits. In Mumbai’s second innings, opener and captain Aayush Shete played a crucial knock, scoring 94 off 127 balls with 12 boundaries and a six. He added 50 runs in 56 balls for the first wicket with Rishabh (24) and later put on 60 runs in 119 balls for the second wicket with Devashish Ghodke (14). For UP, spinner Anay Awasthi was the most successful bowler, claiming 3 for 34, while Krishna Yadav took one wicket. At stumps, Harsh Shailesh Kadam (31*) and Arjun Gadoya (16*) were at the crease for Mumbai. Brief scores: Mumbai first innings: 8 for 633, and second innings: 4 for 183 (Aayush Shete 96, Rishabh S 24; Anay Awasthi 3/34) UP first innings: 135 (Arush Gupta 54, Anay Awasthi 13; Advait Bhatt 5/36, Vedant Gore 2/33, Siddhant 2/21).
