A brilliant double ton by opener Dhiraj Jadhav today put Maharashtra in a commanding position as they amassed 501 runs against Madhya Pradesh on the second day of the Ranji Trophy Plate Championship final match at Nehru Stadium in Pune on Saturday.

Resuming at their overnight score of 285 for three, Maharashtra batsmen, especially Jadhav and Dhruv Mohan, gave a good performance showcasing their batting skills.

Jadhav hammered 251 runs off 536 balls with 28 hits to the fence which gave a lightning start to the hosts even as the other opener Niranjan Godbole went to the pavilion after just six runs to his credit.

Making a valuable contribution, Mohan scored 77 runs off 115 balls while Hrishikesh Kanitkar made 55 runs. K Aphale was one short of a half century when he was dismissed. Other batsmen, however, could not stay on the crease for long.

For Madhya Pradesh, S Pitre and N Hirwani were the best bowlers who took four wickets each. Y Golwalkar also sent two batsmen back to the pavilion.

In reply, the visitors were 26 for one in nine overs as they lost opener M Pasha for 13. N Oza was batting on nine and S Dholpure on two when the stumps were drawn.

Scoreboard:

Maharashtra 1st innings: (overnight 285 for 3)
Dhiraj Jadhav lbw b Golwalkar 251
Niranjan Godbole c N Ojha b Pitre 6
Hirishikesh Kanitkar lbw b Pitre 55
Kaushik Aphale b Hirwani 49
Dhurv Mohan c Bundela b Hirwani 77
Ranjit Khirid c Patwardhan b Hirwani 6
Kashinath Khadkikar b  Hirwani 10
Satyjit Satbhai lbw b Pitre 4
Iqbal Siddiqui c Patwardhan b Pitre 1
Kiran Adhav lbw b Golwalkar 16
Sachin Nair not out 0

Extras (b-4, lb-7, nb-14, wb-1) 26

Total (all out in 168.4 overs) 501

Fall of wickets: 1/14, 2/138, 3/218, 4/376, 5/386, 6/410, 7/443, 8/451, 9/497.

Bowling: S Pandey 29-5-95-0; S Pitre 28-7-91-4; D Bundela 5-0-19-0; M Pasha 6-1-18-0; N Hirwani 53-4-140-4; Abbas Ali 10-4-18-0; Y Golwalkar 37.4-6-109-2.