A round-up of the Ranji Trophy matches on Monday.
Saurashtra rout Rajasthan
Left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja once again did the star turn with career-best figures of 7/32 and played a leading role in Saurashtra's 218-run drubbing of Rajasthan in their Ranji Trophy Group A match in Jaipur on Monday.
Having picked up five wickets in the first innings, Jadeja ended with career-best match figures of 12/131, as the defending champions logged six points from the contest on the fourth and final day.
Resuming on their overnight score of 174/4 and 245 runs ahead, Saurashtra stretched the overall lead before declaring their second innings on 234/6 with Arpit Vasavada remaining not out on 74.
Walking into the middle after Saurashtra had lost their fourth wicket for 74, Vasavada added 102 runs with Player of the Match Sheldon Jackson (49).
Jackson had scored 116 in Saurashtra's first innings after Cheteshwar Pujara's 110.
Set a target of 305, thanks to the efforts of Jackson and Vasavada, Rajasthan, who rode on a collective batting display to total 257 in their first innings, simply fell apart in their second essay and were bowled out for 87 in 28.4 overs, bringing the match to an early end.
While Jadeja was the star of the show, Yuvrajsinh Dodiya (3/25) gave his colleague great support with his off-break bowling, snaring three wickets to add to his four in the first innings.
That the Saurashtra spinners took 19 of the 20 wickets was a clear indication that the pitch favoured the tweakers.
Having set their opponents a target of over 300 on a final day pitch aiding the spinners, it was always going to be an extremely difficult task for Rajasthan, but Jadeja proved to be too good for the home team batters as they surrendered without a fight.
With Jadeja and Dodiya in their elements, Rajasthan lost wickets at regular intervals to concede the match.
Brief scores:
Saurashtra 328 and 234/6 decl in 62 overs (Arpit Vasavada 74, Sheldon Jackson 49) beat Rajasthan 257 and 87 all out in 28.4 overs (Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 7/32) by 218 runs.
In Pune: Maharashtra: 208 and 371 all out in 121.5 overs (Murtaza Trunkwala 86, Ankit Bawne 84; Aditya Thakare 5/54) lost to Vidarbha: 552 and 28/0 in 6 overs by 10 wickets.
Kerala rout Bengal, jump to third spot
Veteran all-rounder Jalaj Saxena grabbed a match haul of 13 wickets on a rank-turner as Kerala crushed Bengal by 109 runs to taste their first win of the ongoing Ranji Trophy season in Thumba.
The win propelled Kerala (14) to third in the Group B table behind leaders Mumbai (30) and Andhra (25).
This was Bengal's second successive defeat of the season as the last edition's runners-up slipped to sixth spot and their knockout qualification hopes are as good as over. Bengal had endured an innings defeat to Mumbai at home in their previous outing.
Spin-bowling all-rounder Saxena followed up his 9/68 in the first innings to pocket 4/104 as Bengal were bowled out for 339 in their tough chase of 449 runs.
Opener Abhimanyu Easwaran completed his second fifty of the match after Bengal resumed the day on 77/2. But Saxena gave the breakthrough first dismissing Anustup Majumdar (16) and then halted Abhimanyu's patient innings for 65.
Playing his penultimate match of his career, veteran Manoj Tiwary also became Saxena's victim falling cheaply for 35. Tiwary has announced that he will finally call it a day after Bengal's last league match against Bihar at Eden Gardens from February 16.
Returning to action after a two-month injury layoff, Bengal premier all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed was the lone warrior for as he chipped in with an entertaining 100-ball 80.
Karan Lal gave him support with a 78-ball 40 in an 83-run alliance for the seventh wicket.
But it was just a formality for the visitors with Basil Thampi (2/8 from 2.4 overs) wiping out the tail, first by effecting the run-out of India Test-bound Akash Deep and then dismissing Shahbaz.
Rahane slams fifty as Mumbai bag 3 points
Veteran India batter Ajinkya Rahane struck his first fifty of Ranji Trophy season, as his 56 not out helped Mumbai bag three points by virtue of their first innings lead over hosts Chhattisgarh in Raipur.
Resuming the day on 97/1 with an overall 98 run lead, Mumbai declared their second essay on 253/6 as both the skippers, Rahane and Amandeep Khare, agreed for a draw before the tea break.
For the home side, left-arm spinner Ajay Mandal returned with 5/63 but that was not enough to bowl Mumbai out.
The sidelined India batter, Rahane's previous scores in this year Ranji Trophy has been 0, 0, 16, 8, 9 and 1. This was his first fifty in nine innings as the Mumbai skipper scored a 78 against Tripura in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in December last year.
Assam secure first win of season
Assam also secured their first win of the season, defeating Bihar by nine wickets. Assam now have eight points from six matches, three ahead of bottom-rung Bihar in the eight-team Group B standings in Guwahati.
The day's hero was left-arm spinner Rahul Singh who claimed 5/49 as Bihar were bowled out for 292 following on.
It gave Assam an easy target of 95 as the home side cantered home in 14.2 overs with opener Parvej Musaraf remaining unbeaten on 52, his second fifty of the match.
Brief Scores
In Thumba: Kerala 363 and 265/6 decl vs Bengal 180 and 339 (Shahbaz Ahmed 80, Abhimanyu Easwaran 65). Kerala won by 109 runs.
In Raipur: Mumbai 351 and 253/6 decl (Bhupen Lalwani 59, Ajinkya Rahane 56 not out; Ajay Mandal 5/65) vs Chhattisgarh 350. Match drawn.
In Guwahati: Assam 405 and 100/1 (Parvej Musaraf 52 not out) vs Bihar 207 and following on 292 (Piyush Singh 103, Bipin Saurabh 44; Rahul Singh 5/49). Assam won by nine wickets.
Delhi beat HP by 76 runs
Rookie pacer Himanshu Chauhan snared five wickets as Delhi bowled out Himachal Pradesh for 250 in their second innings to register an emphatic 76-run win, only their second victory of the ongoing Ranji Trophy season, in Dharamsala.
However, the highlight of the day in group D was left-arm medium pacer Kulwant Khejroliya's sensational four wickets in four successive balls en route to a sizzling five-wicket haul, which powered Madhya Pradesh to an innings and 52-run win over Baroda in Indore.
Khejroliya became only the third bowler to take four wickets in 4 balls in Ranji Trophy history as Madhya Pradesh dismissed Baroda for 270 in 98.3 overs to complete the massive win and grab the top position in the points table.
In Dharamsala, Chauhan's third five-wicket haul of his career fetched Delhi six points from the contest on the final day. The win lifted Delhi (16) to the fourth place behind Madhya Pradesh (26), Baroda (23) and Jammu and Kashmir (18).
Set a target of 327, Himachal resumed their second innings at 31 for one on the final day but Chauhan bowled his heart out to return with figures of 23-7-63-5 to derail the chase.
Right-arm medium pacer Pranshu Vijayran (3/44) and left-arm medium-pacer Siddhant Sharma (2/56) also supported Chauhan in dismissing the hosts in 76.4 overs.
Himachal, who had taken a first innings lead, found the going tough and lost wickets regularly with all-rounder Rishi Dhawan emerging as the top-scorer with a 121-ball 65.
Delhi, who made 264 in their first innings, had scored 381 for six declared in their second innings.
Khejroliya's exploits gives MP massive win against Baroda
It turned out to be a memorable day for the 31-year-old Khejroliya as he joined Delhi's Shankar Saini and Jammu and Kashmir's Mohammed Mudhasir in taking four wickets in four balls in Ranji Trophy history.
He also became the third MP bowler to take a hat-trick in the Ranji Trophy.
MP made 454 in their first innings and dismissed Baroda for a paltry 132 in their first innings to enforce follow-on.
A rearguard 105 from top-order batter Shashwat Rawat kept Baroda in the game before they were hit by Khejroliya.
Bowling the 95th over, Khejroliya dismissed Shashwat Rawat, Mahesh Pithiya, Bhargav Bhatt and Akash Singh on the second, third, fourth and fifth balls as the visitors slipped from 255/5 to 255/9 in a jiffy.
He then returned to take the final wicket of Atit Sheth (20) in the 99th over to complete his five-wicket haul and also the massive win.
Brief Scores:
Delhi 264 and 381-6 decl vs HP 319 and 250 allout in 76.4 overs (Rishi Dhawan 65, Himanshu Chauhan 5/63).
At Indore: Madhya Pradesh 454 beat Baroda 132 and 270 in 98.3 overs (Shashwat Rawat 105; Kulwant Khejroliya 5/34, Kumar Kartikeya 3/77).
At Cuttack: Uttarakhand 342 and 203 for 8 declared beat Odisha 169 and 214 allout in 91.4 overs (Subhranshu Senapati 61; Deepak Dhapola 5/74).
Pandey scalps nine wickets as Railways beat Goa
Railways left-arm spinner Akash Pandey achieved a rare feat as he took nine wickets for 71 runs in Goa's second innings in a stunning bowling show to single-handedly power his side to a 63-run win in their Ranji Trophy Group C match in Surat.
Pandey dismissed eight Goa batters on the final day, while taking the wicket of opener Amogh Sunil Desai on Sunday. He bowled 26.2 overs in total in Goa's second innings.
Only two players -- Premangsu Chatterjee of Bengal and Pradeep Sunderam of Rajasthan -- have picked all 10 wickets in one innings of a Ranji Trophy match. Chatterjee achieved the feat in a Ranji match against Assam in 1957, while Sunderam did the same in a match against Vidarbha in 1985.
Chasing 306 for a win, Goa were all out for 242 in 65.2 overs. Railways walked away with six points while Goa got none.
With the win, Railways now occupy fourth spot with 18 points.
With just one round of matches left in the group league, Karnataka, who got three points on the basis of first innings lead in the drawn match against Tamil Nadu in Chennai, are in top spot with 24 points.
Tamil Nadu are in second with 22 points and Gujarat in third with 19.
In Chennai, chasing a target of 355, TN could only manage 338/8 in 105 overs. The match ended in a draw and Karnataka got three points for their first innings lead, while TN had to be satisfied with one point.
Baba Indrajith was run out just two runs short of century, while Pradosh Ranjan Paul and Vijay Shankar chipped in with 74 and 60 respectively. They lost three quick wickets towards the end to fall short of target after beginning the day at 36/1.
In Mohali, Gujarat crushed Punjab by 299 runs to walk away with six points on the final day.
Pacer Priyajitsing Jadeja scalped two more wickets on Monday to complete a fine five-wicket haul for 39 runs as Gujarat shot hosts Punjab for just 111 in 39.4 overs in their second innings.
Chasing a tall target of 411 runs, Punjab produced an insipid batting display as none of them could reach 20 runs with the highest being 18 by captain Mandeep Singh. Seven of their batters were dismissed without reaching double-digit figures.
Priyajitsing's pace colleagues Chintan Gaja and Arzan Nagwaswalla took two wickets apiece, while spinner Siddharth Desai got one as the home side batters surrendered meekly.
Punjab were staring at defeat after beginning the day at 40 for 4 and Gujarat completed the formalities in 25.4 overs on Monday.
Brief Scores:
In Surat: Railways 297 & 208 beat Goa 200 & 242 in 65.2 overs (Suyash Prabhudessai 67; Akash Pandey 9/71) by 63 runs.
In Chennai: Karnataka 366 & 139 drew with Tamil Nadu 151 & 338 for 8 in 105 overs (Baba Indrajith 98, Pradosh Ranjan Paul 74, Vijay Shankar 60; Vijaykumar Vyshak 3/71).
In Mohali: Gujarat 339 & 290 for 8 decl beat Punjab 219 & 111 in 39.4 overs (Priyajitsing Jadeja 5/39) by 299 runs.
In Chandigarh: Chandigarh 356 & 359 for 3 decl in 74 overs (Arslan Khan 147, Shivam Bhambri 98, Manan Vohra 74) drew with Tripura 438 & 121/3 (Bikramkumar Das 58).
