Pacer Mohammed Shami produced a fiery spell of fast bowling, grabbing four wickets to pave the way for Bengal's emphatic eight-wicket victory over Uttarakhand in their Ranji Trophy Group C clash, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
Resuming the final day at 165 for two with skipper Kunal Chandela batting on 68 and Bhupen Lalwani on 12, Uttarakhand lost the plot once Shami got into his rhythm.
The out-of-favour India pacer exploited the morning conditions superbly to return figures of 4 for 38 from 24.4 overs, while Akash Deep and Ishan Porel bagged two wickets apiece as the visitors were bundled out for 265.
Shami first trapped Chandela leg-before for 72 to open the floodgates, before returning to dismiss Abhay Negi, Janmejay Joshi and Rajan Kumar in a fiery post-lunch burst.
From a steady 173 for 2, Uttarakhand lost their last eight wickets for just 92 runs to be bowled out for 265.
Prashant Chopra (82) and Chandela were the only batters to show resistance, adding some respectability to Uttarakhand's total before the innings folded up in the 97th over.
Chasing 156 for victory, Bengal cruised home in just 29.3 overs, with skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran leading from the front with a fluent 71 not out off 82 balls. He hit six shots to the fence, remaining in control of his innings and the home team's chase.
Sudip Kumar Gharami made a brisk 46 with five fours and a six, while Vishal Bhati finished unbeaten on 16 to complete the formalities.
With this win, Bengal pocketed six points to strengthen their position in the group standings.
Services win; Assam manage draw
Meanwhile, Services recorded a comprehensive innings and 20-run win over Tripura in Delhi after bowling out the rivals for a mere 163 in their second innings while following on.
Arjun Sharma returned a fifer in Services win.
In Ahmedabad, hosts Gujarat played out a draw with Assam, who started the day at a precarious 28 for three and ended the the match at 192 for six.
Mukhtar Hussain (44), Sumit Ghdigaonkar (37), number nine Sibasankar Roy (39 not out) and number 10 Swarupam Purkayastha (44 not out) salvaged the draw.
Brief Scores:
In Kolkata: Uttarakhand 213 and 265 (Prashant Chopra 82, Kunal Chandela 72; Mohammed Shami 4/38, Akash Deep 2/79, Ishan Porel 2/63) lost to Bengal: 323 and 156/2 (Abhimanyu Easwaran 71 not out, Sudip Kumar Gharami 46; Rajan Kumar 1/20). Bengal: 6 points; Uttarakhand: 0
In Delhi: Services 359 all out beat Tripura 176 and (following on) 163 (Hrituraj Roy 31, M Murasingh 21, A Sarkar 35; A Sharama 5/42). Services: 7 points; Tripura: 0
In Ahmedabad: Assam 310 and 192/6 (S Purkayshta 44 not out, M Hussain 44; S Drsai 2/45) drew with Gujarat 382. Gujarat: 3 points; Assam: 1 point
Saurashtra, Karnataka play out draw
Karnataka's reluctance for an early declaration robbed them of the time to bowl out Saurashtra in their second innings as the Elite B group match ended in a draw in Rajkot.
Saurashtra were 128 for five in their second innings on an uneven pitch when the match came to a close.
Just like in the first innings, leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal was Karnataka's star in the second dig too, bagging three wickets to complete a match-haul of 11 wickets.
Chasing an improbable 229 in one and half sessions, Saurashtra were in a spot at 43 for four in the 13th over, and they had 40 overs more to negotiate.
But Saurashtra's fifth wicket pair of Gajjar Sammar (43 not out, 110 balls) and Jay Gohil (41, 73 balls), the concussion substitute for Taranggohel, batted resolutely while adding 81 runs.
The stand, which lasted for 26 overs, ensured three points for Saurashtra, and Karnataka, who got a single point, would rue their call to bat on well into the second session despite having a handy 180-plus lead.
Innings win for Goa
At Porvorim, Goa defeated Chandigarh by an innings and 75 runs despite a fighting 141 from Arjun Azad, who helped his team reach 354 in the second innings after following on.
Brief scores:
In Rajkot: Karnataka: 372 all out and 232 all out (Mayank Agarwal 64, KL Shrijith 31) drew with Saurashtra: 376 all out and 128/5 (Gajjar Sammar 43 not out, Jay Gohil 41 not out; Shreyas Gopal 3/43). Saurashtra: 3 points; Karnataka: 1 point.
In Thiruvananthapuram: Maharashtra: 239 all out and 224/2 declared (Prithvi Shaw 75, SA Veer 55 not out, Ruturaj Gaikwad 55 not out) drew with Kerala: 219 all out. Maharashtra: 3 points, Kerala: 1 point.
In Porvorim: Goa: 566 all out beat Chandigarh: 137 all out and 354 all out (Arjun Azad 141, AK Kaushik 82; Darshan Mishal 5/124, Mohit Redkar 3/93) by an innings and 75 runs. Goa: 7 points; Chandigarh: 0
In Indore: Punjab: 232 all out and 143/5 (Uday Sharan 36, Jaskaranvir Singh Paul 28; Shubham Sharma 3/20) drew with Madhya Pradesh: 519/8 declared. Madhya Pradesh: 3 points; Punjab: 1 point.
Jharkhand crush Tamil Nadu
Jharkhand humbled former champions Tamil Nadu by an innings and 114 runs with young off-spinner Rishav Raj, playing his maiden first-class match, grabbing four wickets in their Group A match in Coimbatore.
With Jharkhand virtually assured of a victory on Friday after asking Tamil Nadu to follow-on, it was a matter of time before the fragile Tamil Nadu batting crumbled.
Rishav, 24, who had started the TN collapse on Friday by dismissing teenage opener, came back refreshed on the final day to take two more wickets to return excellent figures of 4/49 on debut.
Jharkhand, who has scored 419 in the opening essay, had dismissed TN for 93 in the first innings and enforced a follow-on.
But TN batters could not put up a fight and were dismissed for 212 in 79 overs as the Ishan Kishan-led side earned a bonus point.
Kishan was declared 'Player of the Match' for his superb 173.
Brief Scores:
In Coimbatore: Jharkhand 419 all out beat Tamil Nadu 93 all out & (f/o) 212 all out (C Andre Siddarth 80, M Shahrukh Khan 37; Sahil Raj 2/28, Rishav Raj 4/49, Anukul Roy 3/42). Jharkhand: 7 points; Tamil Nadu: 0
In Kanpur: Andhra 470 all out drew with Uttar Pradesh 471/8 (Aryan Juyal 66, Rinku Singh 165 not out, Madhav Kaushik 54). Uttar Pradesh: 3 points; Andhra: 1 point
In Cuttack: Odisha 271 all out & 174 all out (Subhranshu Senapati 59; Mahesh Pithiya 6/63, Bhargav Bhatt 3/57) lost to Baroda 413/7 decl & 36/3 (Shivalik Sharma 32 not out; Badal Biswal 2/20). Baroda: 6 points; Odisha: 0.
Mumbai beat J&K by 35 runs
Left-arm spinner Shams Mulani spun a web around Jammu and Kashmir to grab a seven-wicket haul as Mumbai beat the hosts by 35 runs in an exciting opening round Group D encounter in Srinagar.
Jammu and Kashmir needed 222 runs to reach the winning target of 243 on the final day but courtesy Mulani, who also scored 91 in Mumbai's first essay, the home team were all out for 207 in 64.4 overs.
With the pitch assisting slow bowlers, Mulani returned with 7/46, his 17th five-wicket haul in first-class cricket, as the portly left-arm orthodox spinner once again became his team's 'go-to' man with his all-round skills.
For the hosts, opener Qamran Iqbal (56) and his 53-run stand with skipper Paras Dogra (29) did raise hopes at one point with the scoreboard reading 84/2.
But once Mulani breached Dogra's defence and off-spinner TanushKotian induced a return catch from IPL specialist Abdul Samad (15), things went downhill for Jammu and Kashmir.
Once Iqbal became Mulani's third victim and J&K were reduced to 131/6, there was no turning back for Mumbai as he got wickets at regular intervals to get six points for his team.
Delhi log 3 points
Skipper Ayush Badoni (6/73) and fellow spinner Arpit Rana (3/23) shone as Delhi ensured three points against hosts Hyderabad.
Resuming on 400/7, Hyderabad innings folded at 411 within half an hour as Badoni and Rana polished off the tail in a jiffy.
Delhi, already 118 runs ahead and assured of three points, were 138/3 in their second innings when play was called off after Hyderabad bowled 42 overs. Sanat Sangwan was unbeaten on 56.
Brief Scores:
In Srinagar: Mumbai 386 and 181 beat J&K 325 and 207 (Qamran Iqbal 56, Shams Mulani 7/46). Points: Mumbai 6; J&K 0.
In Hyderabad: Delhi 529/4 declared and 138/3; 42 overs (Sanat Sangwan 56 not out) drew with Hyderabad 411 (Tanmay Agarwal 132, Ayush Badoni 6/73). Points: Delhi 3; Hyderabad 1.
In Puducherry: HP 305 and 91/4 drew with Puducherry 183. Points: HP 3; Puducherry 1.
In Rajsamand: Chhattisgarh 332 and 109 (Manav Suthar 8/42) lost to Rajasthan 386 and 56/1. Points: Rajasthan 6; Chhattisgarh 0.