<p> Mumbai made their first Ranji Trophy final in three seasons even though they were denied an outright win with fighting centuries from Madhya Pradesh wicket-keeper batsman Naman Ojha and Harpreet Singh on day five of the semifinal here today.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Madhya Pradesh, who needed to chase a mammoth 571-run target in little more than four sessions, ended their second innings at 361 for five with the game ending in a draw and Mumbai entering the final on the basis of first innings lead.<br /><br />They meet Saurashtra in the final to played in Pune from February 24.<br />Madhya Pradesh, starting the day at 99/2, went on to frustrate the Mumbai bowlers for 109 overs, putting a much improved effort than the first innings where they managed 227 to Mumbai's 371.<br /><br />Ojha (113), who started the day on 14, ended up hitting his 15th first-class ton and the first this season. His 185 ball effort comprised 13 fours and a six.<br /><br />He shared a 159-run stand with Harpreet (105), who brought up his second century of the season and ended the tournament as his team's leading run-getter with 750 runs in 15 innings.<br /><br />However, it was not enough to stop 40-time champions Mumbai, entering another final with contributions from Suryakumar Yadav and Aditya Tare, who hit tons on day four to take the team to 426 in their second innings.<br /><br />Shreyas Iyer scored a 90 and 58 in the game with another notable performance coming from pacer Balwinder Sandhu, who took five wickets in the first innings.<br /><br />Brief scores: Mumbai 371 and 426 (Aditya Tare 103, Suryakumar Yadav 115, Abhishek Nayar 73; Ishwar Pandey 3/103).<br /><br />Madhya Pradesh 227 and 361/5 in 109 overs (Naman Ojha 113, Harpreet Singh 105).</p>
<p> Mumbai made their first Ranji Trophy final in three seasons even though they were denied an outright win with fighting centuries from Madhya Pradesh wicket-keeper batsman Naman Ojha and Harpreet Singh on day five of the semifinal here today.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Madhya Pradesh, who needed to chase a mammoth 571-run target in little more than four sessions, ended their second innings at 361 for five with the game ending in a draw and Mumbai entering the final on the basis of first innings lead.<br /><br />They meet Saurashtra in the final to played in Pune from February 24.<br />Madhya Pradesh, starting the day at 99/2, went on to frustrate the Mumbai bowlers for 109 overs, putting a much improved effort than the first innings where they managed 227 to Mumbai's 371.<br /><br />Ojha (113), who started the day on 14, ended up hitting his 15th first-class ton and the first this season. His 185 ball effort comprised 13 fours and a six.<br /><br />He shared a 159-run stand with Harpreet (105), who brought up his second century of the season and ended the tournament as his team's leading run-getter with 750 runs in 15 innings.<br /><br />However, it was not enough to stop 40-time champions Mumbai, entering another final with contributions from Suryakumar Yadav and Aditya Tare, who hit tons on day four to take the team to 426 in their second innings.<br /><br />Shreyas Iyer scored a 90 and 58 in the game with another notable performance coming from pacer Balwinder Sandhu, who took five wickets in the first innings.<br /><br />Brief scores: Mumbai 371 and 426 (Aditya Tare 103, Suryakumar Yadav 115, Abhishek Nayar 73; Ishwar Pandey 3/103).<br /><br />Madhya Pradesh 227 and 361/5 in 109 overs (Naman Ojha 113, Harpreet Singh 105).</p>