Left-arm spinner Shams Mulani grabbed a match haul of 10 wickets as Mumbai defeated Andhra by 10 wickets to secure a successive bonus-point victory in the Ranji Trophy in Mumbai on Monday.
Following on, Andhra faced a daunting task in their second innings, and despite some resistance from Shaik Rasheed (66) and Hanuma Vihari (46), Mulani's crafty spin proved too much to handle as the visitors folded for 244 in 73.4 overs, setting an easy target of 34.
Mulani returned with 4/96 in the second innings, securing a match-haul of 10/161, his sixth 10-wicket haul in first-class cricket.
Mumbai overhauled the target in 8.4 overs keeping all their wickets intact to secure seven points (six plus one bonus point).
The 41-times champions, who defeated Bihar by an innings and 51 runs in the opening round, now sit pretty at top of the Group B standings with 14 points from two matches, four points clear of Chhattisgarh who bagged three points against Bihar in Patna.
Mumbai had dominated the proceedings from the start, posting a formidable total of 395 in their first innings.
Bhupen Lalwani's solid 61, aided by Tanush Kotian (54) and Mohti Avasthis's (53) well-crafted half-centuries, gave them the early advantage.
Mulani also contributed with the bat with a patient 38 off 111 balls before he dismantled Andhra's batting lineup with impressive figures of 6/65. Andhra folded for 184 in the first innings as Ajinkya Rahane was quick to enforce follow-on.
Bengal bag three in Kanpur
Bengal had to settle for three points by virtue of first innings lead over Uttar Pradesh after the entire fourth and final day's play at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur was called off due to bad light.
Speedster Mohammad Kaif (4/15 and 3/72) was named the man of the match for bagging an impressive seven wickets in the match while also scoring a fighting unbeaten 45.
Earlier, after bowling out UP for just 60 in their first innings, Bengal managed to post 188, which helped them pocket the all-important first innings lead.
UP's second essay fightback was steered by skipper Nitish Rana who was unbeaten on 47 with the team's score of 178/4, ahead by 50 runs at close on day three.
The match however could not get underway on the final day because of bad light as Bengal settled for three crucial points.
Brief Scores:
In Mumbai: Mumbai 395 and 34 for no loss. Andhra 184 and following on 244; 73.4 overs (Shaik Rasheed 66; Shams Mulani 4/96, Royston Dias 3/45). Mumbai won by 10 wickets.
Points: Mumbai 7, Andhra 0.
In Kanpur: Uttar Pradesh 60 and 178/4. Bengal 188. Match drawn. Points: Bengal 3, UP 1.
In Guwahati: Kerala 419. Assam 248; 64.5 overs (Riyan Parag 116; Basil Thampi 5/82, Jalaj Saxena 4/58) and following on 212/3; 54 overs (Rahul Hazarika 107, Rishav Das 45). Match drawn.
Points: Kerala 3, Assam 1.
In Patna: Bihar 108 and 226/7; 77 overs (Sraman Nigrodh 60, Babul Kumar 52, Bipin Saurabh 30 not out). Chhattisgarh 329/2 declared; 83 overs (Rishabh Tiwari 138, Ashutosh Singh 134). Match drawn. Points: Chhattisgarh 3, Bihar 1.
Desai's Magnificent 7 propels Gujarat to stunning win vs Karnataka
Ahmedabad: Gujarat scripted a stunning turnaround by bundling out Karnataka for a mere 103 on the final day to secure a dramatic six-run win in their Ranji Trophy Group C clash here on Monday.
Set a modest 110-run target, the star-studded Karnataka were cruising comfortably at 50 for no loss before the Gujarat bowlers, headlined by left-arm spinner Siddharth Desai's stellar 7/42 orchestrated a sensational collapse.
He was well-supported by off-spinner Rinkesh Vaghela (3/38) as Karnataka lost all their wickets for 53 runs inside 17 overs.
This was Gujarat's second successive win as they climbed to the top of the group with 12 points, while the eight-time champions Karnataka slipped to third place with six points.
Tripura occupy second place after their drawn match against Tamil Nadu at home.
It all began with Mayank Agarwal's departure in the 10th over as Desai turned the game on its head with Karnataka batters showing atrocious shot selection.
Devdutt Padikkal (31), Nikin Jose (4) and Manish Pandey (0) followed suit as the vaunted Karnataka line-up struggled against the spin and crumbled under pressure with only three managing double-digit scores.
Shubhang Hegde remained composed amid the chaos but a stunning catch by wicketkeeper Het Patel ended his innings for 27 (37b) with Karnataka on 92/8, 18 runs shy of the target.
Thereafter it was a matter of time as Rohit Kumar and Prasidh Krishna got out in addition of just 11 runs.
Railways garner three points vs Punjab
In Mullanpur, seamer Himanshu Sangwan's 4/58 in the first innings helped Railways secure first innings lead over Punjab and garner three points after their drawn match.
Tottering in their overnight score of 93/6, Punjab folded for 178. Abhinav Sharma was their top-scorer with 73 (92b).
Forced to bat again, Punjab showed resilience in their second innings, reaching 53/1 before the match concluded.
Abhishek Sharma (4) fell early to Sangwan, but Prabhsimran Singh (23 not out) and Naman Dhir (26 not out) steadied the ship.
Brief Scores:
In Ahmedabad: Gujarat 264 and 219; 80.2 overs (Umang Kumar 57, Manan Hingrajia 56; Vasuki Koushik 3/16, Rohit Kumar 3/61, Shubhang Hegde 2/90). Karnataka 374 and 103; 26.2 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 31; Siddharth Desai 7/42, Rinkesh Vaghela 3/38). Gujarat won by six runs. Points: Gujarat 6, Karnataka 0.
In Mullanpur: Railways 345. Punjab 178; 47.3 overs (Abhinav Sharma 73; Himanshu Sangwan 4/58, Kunal Yadav 3/59, Yuvraj Singh 2/42) and following on 53/1. Match drawn. Points: Railways 3, Punjab 1.
In Povorim: Goa 618/7 declared and 25 for no loss. Chandigarh 479; 160 overs (Kunal Mahajan 147, Raj Bawa 90, Arslan Khan 84; Darshan Misal 5/110). Match drawn. Points: Goa 3, Chandigarh 1.
In Agartala: Tamil Nadu 143/2 vs Tripura. Match drawn. Points: TN 1, Tripura 1.
Dhull fails again as Delhi's young batting line-up flatters to deceive against J&K
Jammu: Yash Dhull's susceptible technique against raw pace was exposed by Umran Malik as Delhi's young batting stars collectively struggled in seamer-friendly conditions with only 42 overs play possible across four days of a Ranji Trophy Group D game here.
Having lost to Puducherry in the opening game, Delhi under new skipper Himmat Singh logged home their first point of the season as the match ended with visitors tottering at 134 for six.
Jammu and Kashmir also got a point.
However, the worrying point was another failure by the Delhi top order against a tier-2 domestic side like J&K after being bowled out for less than 200 in both innings against Puducherry in Delhi.
After only three overs of play was possible on first three days, Delhi's batters got some chance of a hit with 39 overs being sent on the day.
Debutant Salil Malhotra (1) was bowled by Rohit and Dhull, who hit four boundaries, was beaten for pace by Umran.
Dhull's struggles against express pace have come to light in his stint with Delhi Capitals in the IPL and he even had a hard time putting bat on ball against Anrich Nortje at DC nets.
His sequence of scores in Ranji Trophy this season is 2, 23 and 18. In his last 10 completed innings across three formats, Dhull has failed to get a single fifty plus score.
In fact, DDCA sacking him from captaincy hasn't changed his fortunes and there is a feeling in DDCA corridors that Dhull, who is more comfortable against slow bowlers, could come down the order at No. 4 or 5 to regain some form.
Vaibhav Kandpal (0), who has the right kind of backing from powerful quarters of DDCA, found his defence breached by Rohit while skipper Himmat (8) also was adjudged plumb in-front. Once dependable duo of Jonty Sidhu (16) and Ayush Badoni (12) were also gone, Delhi were reeling at 60 for 6.
It was Anuj Rawat (47 not out) and Hrithik Shokeen (25 not out), who added 74 for the unbroken seventh wicket and saved Delhi from further embarrassment.
Delhi 1st Innings 134/6 in 42 overs (Anuj Rawat 47 not out). Match drawn. Points: Delhi 1, J&K 1.
Odisha get 3 points vs MP
Odisha got valuable three points in an away game against Madhya Pradesh by virtue of big 180-run first innings lead in another game at Indore.
After MP scored 318 in reply to Odisha's first innings score of 498, the home team managed 291 for 4 in 59 overs as Yash Dubey (91) and Himanshu Mantri (119) helped themselves with some easy runs. Needing 112 runs with little time left, Odisha could only manage 38 for 1 in 10 overs.
Brief Scores: Odisha 498 and (target 112) 38/1. MP 318 and 291/4 (Himanshu Mantri 119). Match Drawn. Odisha 3; MP 1.
Tare, Dhapola star in big Uttarakhand win
Aditya Tare scored 100 and 79 and also took six catches as Uttarakhand demolished a below-par Himachal Pradesh by 88 runs to get six points in another game at Dharamsala.
Uttarkhand scored 238 and 227 in their two innings while Himachal after scoring 271 and getting a first innings lead, needed 195 to win.
However by end of third day, seamer Deepak Dhapola, with match figures of 9/84 (4/53 and 5/31), had run through Himachal top-order reducing them to 39/6.
On the final day, Dhapola's colleagues Jagmohan Nagarkoti, Rajan Kumar and Abhay Negi polished off the remaining four wickets with HP getting bowled out for 106.
Brief Scores: Uttarakhand 231 and 227. HP 271 and (target 195) 106 in 31 overs (Deepak Dhapola 5/31). Uttarakhand won by 88 runs. Points: Uttarakhand 6. HP 0.
