Kerala must bat sensibly on the final day to avoid a first defeat in the Ranji Trophy after Madhya Pradesh declared their second innings at 369/8. The visitors resumed day three at 140/2 and constructed a good score steadily. Rajat Patidar built on his overnight score of 50 to top score with 92.

Venkatesh Iyer scored a quick-fire 80 not out of 70, hitting six sixes and two boundaries. Avesh Khan, who impressed with the ball earlier, contributed with a handy 21 to get MP past 350.

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Kerala lost opener Akshay Chandran for 24 shortly before stumps on the penultimate day and need another 335 to win. Sachin Baby is captaining Kerala in the absence of Sanju Samson, who is away on national duty for India's T20I home series against England.

Brief scores: MP 160 & 369/8 dec in 101 overs (Rajat Patidar 92, Venkatesh Iyer 80 not out, Shubham Sharma 54, Harpreet Bhatia 36, Himanshu Mantri 31, Basil NP 4/117, Jalaj Saxena 2/95) vs Kerala 167/9 & 28/1 in 12.5 overs. Stumps on day three

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