A round-up of results from the Ranji Trophy matches played on Sunday.
Mumbai, Bengal, Karnataka qualify for quarters directly
Seven elite group toppers -- Bengal, Mumbai, Karnataka, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand -- made the cut directly to the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals after the conclusion of the league round on Sunday.
Having finished with least points among the eight elite group toppers, Jharkhand will face Plate toppers Nagaland in a one-off pre-quarterfinal in Kolkata from March 12.
Group E toppers Uttarakhand and Jharkhand (group H) finished with 12 points each but the former with a better run-rate quotient of 1.424 advanced into the quarters directly.
The quarter-finals will get underway in June after the IPL 2022.
The premier domestic cricket tournament returned in February after the pandemic forced break of two years -- the longest interruption in its history.
Madhya Pradesh draw match against Kerala, qualify for quarters
Madhya Pradesh made it to the knockouts of the Ranji Trophy despite their last elite group A match against Kerala ending in a draw in Rajkot on Sunday.
MP qualified for the quarter-finals on the basis of better quotient of 2.147 than Kerala (1.648) at the end of the group league matches.
MP came into the game on 13 points after beating Gujarat and Meghalaya. Kerala were also on 13 points before the match.
Since, the match ended in a draw and the first innings -- of Kerala -- was not complete, both the teams got one point each and their tally stood at 14 each.
It thus finally came down to quotient and on that basis, MP made it to the knockouts.
MP had piled up a staggering 585/9 declared in their first essay, as they rode on opener Yash Dubey's elegant 289.
Resuming the fourth and final day at 198/2, Kerala's first innings score remained at 432/9 in 153 overs. Their first innings remained unfinished after four days of play.
For Kerala, opener Rahul P (136) and skipper Sachin Baby (114) scored centuries but their efforts were not enough to take their team to the knockouts.
For Madhya Pradesh, experienced pacer Ishwar Chandra Pandey (3/78) and Anubhav Agarwal (3/58) picked three tickets each.
A Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) official also confirmed to PTI that their team has topped the group on the basis of quotient and credited coach Chandrakant Pandit for his strategy.
Meanwhile, in another elite group A game, Gujarat thrashed minnows Meghalaya by an innings and 139 runs.
It was a consolation win for Gujarat as they were already out of the reckoning.
Brief Scores:
Madhya Pradesh: 585/9 declared (Yash Dubey 289, Rajat Patidar 142; Jalaj Saxena 6/116, Basil NP 1/85) versus Kerala 432/9 (Rahul P 136; Sachin Baby 114; Anubhav Agarwal 3/58). Match Drawn.
Gujarat: 555/8 declared (Bhargav Merai 223, Het Patel 154; Chirag Khurana 5/151, Dippu 1/37) versus Meghalaya 166 and 250 (DB Ravi Teja 133; Punit Bisht 68; Arzan Nagwaswalla 4/70, Parth Vaghani 2/44). Gujarat won by an innings and 139 runs PTI NRB
Bengal thrash Chandigarh, storm into quarters
Cuttack: Bengal thrashed Chandigarh by 152 runs in their Ranji Trophy elite group B match to advance to the quarter-finals with three wins in a row at the Barabati Stadium on Sunday.
Defending a stiff 413, Bengal bowled Chandigarh out for 260 on the fourth and final day with the pace troika of Ishan Porel (3/37), Mukesh Kumar (2/72) and Nilakantha Das (2/50) sharing seven wickets among them.
Chandigarh No. 9 batter Jaskaran Singh waged a lone battle, remaining unbeaten on 60 as he ran out of partners to be all out in 96.2 overs.
Amrit Lubana (57) and skipper Manan Vohra (40) also put up some resistance but they failed to convert their starts as Bengal bowlers kept taking wickets at regular intervals.
Chandigarh had a watchful start after they resumed the day on 14/2. Skipper Vohra and Gaurav Gambhir (19) saw off the opening hour's play with their dogged approach.
Mukesh Kumar gave the first breakthrough before the likes of Porel and Das got into the act.
Shahbaz Ahmed, Sayan Sekhar Mondal and Anustup Majumdar also returned among wickets, bagging one each.
From being shot out for 88 in their first match against Baroda, it has been a remarkable turnaround for Bengal who won all their three matches to finish on top of group B with 18 points and seal their last-eight berth.
"This team has been fantastic. They have shown character, spirit, skill and fitness, and kept themselves motivated to reach the top of the table," head coach Arunl Lal said.
Bengal needed just three points from the last round to qualify for the knock-outs.
"It was not a must win match for us to reach the knockouts but still the boys worked very hard to win this game. It keeps the winning habit with us, the momentum intact and keeps us confident," Lal said.
The coach had a special mention for the bowling unit.
"I have been saying this for a long time that our bowlers have been performing endlessly for us, they have set very high standards for themselves and they live up to it. We depend on them, hats off to them.
"In this match we got almost three hundreds, our number eight stayed unbeaten on 97, this really augurs well for our batting unit," Lal concluded.
Brief Scores:
At Barabati Stadium: Bengal 437 and 181/8 declared versus Chandigarh 206 and 260 in 96.2 overs (Jaskaran Singh 60 not out, Amrit Lubana 57; Ishan Porel 3/37) Bengal won by 152 runs. Points: Bengal 6, Chandigarh 0.
Chennai: Karnataka thrashed Puducherry by an innings and 20 runs on the fourth and final day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group C on Sunday to qualify for the knock-out phase in style.
With the win and seven points, Karnataka finished on top of the group with 16 points, followed by Railways (10), the winner over Jammu & Kashmir (6 points) and Pondicherry (1 point).
Resuming at their overnight score of 62 for 4 and facing an uphill task against a formidable bowling attack, Pondicherry were all out for 192 in 61 overs.
Leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal was the wrecker-in-chief, taking five wickets. India pacer Prasidh Krishna picked up three wickets, including that of veteran Paras Dogra (14) and captain D Rohit (12), who scored a century in the first innings.
Left-handed batter Pavan Deshpande fought a lone battle, remaining not out on 54 off 119 balls.
In the other group match, Railways beat Jammu & Kashmir, thanks to captain Karn Sharma, who took 5 for 64 with his leg-spin bowling.
Sharma helped the team bowl out J&K for 203 and then the side knocked off the required runs in 12.1 overs for a nine-wicket win.
Karnataka finished their league engagements with two wins and a draw while Railways had a win and two draws and Jammu & Kashmir ended with a win and two losses. Puducherry drew one of their three matches and lost the other two.
Brief scores:
Karnataka 453 for eight declared beat Pondicherry 241 & 192 in 61 overs (Pavan Deshpande 54 not out (119b, 5x4), G Chiranjeevi 28, Subodh Bhati 37, Shreyas Gopal five for 82, Prasidh Krishna three for 38) by an innings and 20 runs.
Karnataka 7 points, Pondicherry 0.
Jammu and Kashmir 259 & 203 in 62 overs (Suryansh Raina 39, Fazil Rashid 29, Abdul Samad 29, Ian Dev Singh 23, Umar Nazir 30 not out, Karn Sharma five for 64, Shivam Chaudhary three for 42) lost to Railways 426 & 39 for one in 12.1 overs by nine wickets.
Railways 6 points, J&K 0.
Mumbai outplay Odisha, storm into quarters for the first time since 2017-18
Ahmedabad: Heavyweights Mumbai stormed into the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals for the first time since 2017-18 season after an innings and 108-run win over Odisha in their Group D match here on Sunday.
Having conceded a mammoth 248-run first innings lead, Odisha resumed the final day on 84/5 before the Mumbai spin duo of Shams Mulani (5/64) and Tanush Kotian (3/31) ran through their lower order. They were all out in 15 overs on the final day, even before the first drinks break was taken.
With the bonus point victory, Mumbai ended up with 16 points, three points ahead of Saurashtra who failed to make the cut despite their big 211-run win over Goa in another match here.
Left-arm spinner Mulani ended the league phase on top of the bowling chart, with 29 wickets from three matches.
The 24-year-old began the proceedings on the final day and gave the breakthrough in the seventh over of the day by dismissing Debasish Samantray for 22.
In his next over, Mulani completed his eighth five-wicket haul in his first class career when he took the wicket of Rajesh Mohanty (6).
Kotian then returned to action, replacing pacer Siddharth Raut, as he dismissed the last three Odisha batters inside two overs.
Abhishek Raut waged a lone battle for Odisha with a 59 and after his dismissal by Kotian in the 40th over, they lost their last two wickets in three balls.
Sarfaraz Khan's whirlwind 165 from 181 balls formed the cornerstone of Mumbai's victory as they declared their first innings for a mammoth 532/9 in reply to Odisha's 284.
Brief Scores:
At Sardar Patel B Stadium: Odisha 284 and 140 in 42 oveers (Abhishek Raut 59; Shams Mulani 5/64, Tanush Kotian 3/31, Siddharth Raut 2/44) versus Mumbai 532/9 declared. Mumbai won by an innings and 108 runs. Points: Mumbai 7, Odisha 0.
At Narendra Modi Stadium: Saurashtra 347 and 305/3 declared in 57 overs (Harvik Desai 77, Cheteshwar Pujara 64 not out, Snell Patel 61, Sheldon Jackson 53 not out) versus Goa 311 and 130 in 34.3 overs (Suyash Prabhudessai 39, Amogh Desai 26; Chetan Sakariya 6/38, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 4/53). Saurashtra won by 211 runs. Points: Saurashtra 6, Goa 0.
Haryana score big win over HP but fail to qualify
New Delhi: Haryana secured a massive 281-run win over Himachal Pradesh, but it was not enough to qualify for the knockout round as they finished second behind Punjab in the Elite Ranji Trophy Group F.
Punjab had already secured the knock-out berth from Group F after registering a six-wicket win over Tripura on Saturday.
Resuming at 102 for 6, Haryana declared their second essay on 320 for 9. Yashu Sharma (55) and rookie Yuvraj Singh (50) scored half-centuries, while Mayank Shandilya chipped in with 49.
Chasing 439, Himachal Pradesh were bowled out for 157 in 40.4 overs as skipper Ankit Kalsi waged a lone battle with a 74-ball 59.
Amit Rana, who grabbed a five-wicket haul in the first innings to dismiss Himachal Pradesh for 184, was again the wrecker-in-chief as he grabbed 4 for 34 to return a match haul of nine wickets.
Himanshu Rana, who scored 129 to guide Haryana to a 302 in the first innings, was adjudged man-of-the-match.
Brief scores:
At Palam A Ground: Haryana 302 and 320/9 declared in 76.1 overs (Yashu Sharma 55, Yuvraj Singh 50, Mayank Shandilya 49; Akash Vasisht 4/58) vs Himachal Pradesh 184 and 157 in 40.4 overs (Ankit Kalsi 59, Mayank Dagar 25; Amit Rana 4/34). Haryana won by 281 runs.
Haryana 6 points, Himachal Pradesh 0.
UP stun Maharashtra by six wickets to make knockouts; Vidarbha out
Sultanpur (Haryana): Uttar Pradesh stunned Maharashtra by six wickets in their Ranji Trophy elite Group G match to qualify for the knock-outs on Sunday.
Maharashtra, who had taken a crucial first innings lead, resumed the fourth and final day on 84 for 4 and they made quite a brave declaration at 211/5, with Rahul Tripathi remaining unbeaten on 123 off just 110 balls, with 17 fours and two sixes.
Uttar Pradesh were thus set a stiff target of 357, but they rode on hundreds from opener Almas Shaukat (100) and skipper Karan Sharma (116) to win the match. Rinku Singh also chipped in with an unbeaten 78 off just 60 balls.
UP were reeling at 84/2 after losing openers Samarth Singh (18) and Priyam Garg (18) cheaply.
But Shaukat, who hammered eight boundaries and two sixes, and Karan Sharma had different plans. They took a pedestrian Maharashtra attack to task and forged a crucial 142-run stand for the third wicket to help UP chase down the target with ease.
Sharma's six-hitting prowess was on display as he slammed seven maximums and four boundaries in his 144-ball knock.
Maharashtra did try to make a comeback after removing Shaukat, but it was too little and too late.
Sharma then found an able ally in Rinku, who smashed five boundaries and four sixes, as the duo added 89 runs for the fourth wicket, which took the game away from Maharashtra at the Gurugram cricket ground.
With six points from the match, UP topped the group and made it to the knockouts.
In another group G game, Vidarbha thrashed Assam by five wickets and grabbed six points. But that was not enough for the side to make the knock-outs, as they ended with overall 12 points.
Brief Scores:
Maharashtra 462 all out and 211/5 declared (Rahul Tripathi 123 not out) versus Uttar Pradesh 317 and 359/4 (Karan Sharma 116, Almas Shaukat 100, Rinku Singh 78 not out; Manoj Ingle 1/21). Uttar Pradesh won by six wickets
Assam: 316 and 110 (Sarupam Purkayastha 46, Kunal Saikia 22; Lalit Yadav 5/22, Rajneesh Gurbani 4/33) versus Vidarbha 271 and 156/5 (Faiz Fazal 41, Ganesh Satish 29; Hridip Deka 4/45, Mukhtar Hussain 1/37). Vidarbha won by five wickets.
Skipper Tiwary takes Jharkhand to knockouts, Dhull hits maiden double ton for Delhi in Group H
Skipper Tiwary takes Jharkhand to play-offs, Dhull hits maiden double ton for Delhi in Group H
Guwahati: Skipper Saurabh Tiwary struck a match-winning 93 while Kumar Kushagra made 50 to guide Jharkhand to the play-offs of the Ranji Trophy with a two-wicket win over heavyweights Tamil Nadu in their last elite group H match on Sunday.
Despite the victory, Jharkhand finished with least points among the eight elite group toppers and will now face Plate toppers Nagaland in a one-off pre-quarterfinal here from March 12.
Group E toppers Uttarakhand and Jharkhand (group H) finished with 12 points each but the former advanced to the quarterfinals directly on the basis of better quotient of 1.424.
Jharkhand needed just 104 runs on the final day with six wickets in hand to dislodge Chhattisgarh from the top of the group and they rode on valuable knocks from skipper Tiwary and Kushagra to reach their target in 80.4 overs with two wickets in hand.
Chasing 212 for an outright win, Jharkhand were 102 for four in 39 overs at the close of play on Saturday with Tiwary batting on 41 and Kushagra giving him company on 25.
The duo resumed their innings in confident fashion on Sunday and added 90 runs for the fifth wicket to take Jharkhand close to the target before the latter was dismissed on 50.
Kushagra scored his half-century off 121 balls with the help of just five boundaries.
Tiwary, on the other hand, looked solid and looked determined to take his side over the line but departed just two runs short off the target after making a well-deserved 93. His runs came off 193 balls during which he hit six boundaries and one six.
Rahul Shukla (14 not out) completed the formalities for Jharkhand as they secured full six points from the match to jump to the top of the table.
The trio of Baba Aparajith (2/27), Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore (2/47) and Manimaran Siddharth (2/48) together scalped six wickets for Tamil Nadu.
Dhull hits maiden double ton as Delhi disappoint Chhattisgarh
In the other Group H match, rising batting star Yash Dhull struck his maiden first class double century while Dhruv Shorey hit a hundred as Delhi, who were already out of the knockout race, shattered Chhattisgarh's hopes to post 396 for two declared in 89.3 overs in their second innings after following on.
India's recent U-19 World Cup-winning team skipper Dhull, playing his first Ranji season, once again shone bright with the bat with an 261-ball 200 not out to prove his credentials.
He struck 26 boundaries during his knock and together with Shorey (100 off 208 balls, 13x4s) shared 246 runs for the opening stand to take the match away from Chhattisgarh.
Delhi batters gave a good account of themselves in the second innings with Nitish Rana (56 not out off 36 balls, 3x4s, 5x6s) and Kshitiz Sharma (26) also getting a good knocks.
Jharkhand finished on top of group H with 12 points from three games -- two wins and one loss, while Chhattisgarh ended on the second spot with 10 points. Tamil Nadu were third with six points ahead of bottom-placed Delhi, who managed to garner just two points from what has been a disappointing campaign for them.
Brief Scores:
Tamil Nadu: 285 & 152 all out in 54.2 overs (Baba Indrajith 52; Rahul Shukla 5/29) vs Jharkhand: 226 & 214 for 80.4 overs (Saurabh Tiwary 93, Kumar Kushagra 50; Baba Aparajith 2/27).
Chhattisgarh: 482 for 9 declared in 145 overs (Amandeep Khare 156 not out, Shashank Singh 122, Ajay Mandal 63; Vikas Mishra 6/124) vs Delhi: 295 all out & 396 for 2 declared in 89.3 overs (Yash Dhull 200 not out, Dhruv Shorey 100; Sumit Ruikar 1/56).
Nagaland thrash Mizoram, go nine points clear of Manipur
Kolkata: Left-arm spinner Imliwati Lemtur claimed four wickets for 49 runs to help Nagaland thrash Mizoram by a massive 448 runs in their Ranji Trophy plate group match at Eden Gardens here on Sunday.
Nagaland dismissed Mizoram for 261 with Lemtur playing a major role.
Resuming at 42 for 1 in their improbable chase of 710 runs, Mizoram folded their second innings in 93.4 overs to hand Nagaland their third win on the trot.
The win consolidated Nagaland's place on the top of the Plate group table with 19 points, nine points clear of Manipur, with two more rounds to go.
The 18-year-old medium pacer Raja Swarnkar, who made a memorable debut grabbing 5/17 to skittle out Mizoram for a paltry 95 in the first innings, was adjudged man-of-the-match.
Swarnkar took 1/42 in the second innings to finish with a match haul of six wickets.
For Mizoram, skipper Taruwar Kohli waged a lone battle to be unbeaten on 151 from 251 balls (26x4), his 11th overall first class century and third from as many matches.
Brief Scores:
At Videocon Academy: Bihar 109 and 325 in 92.5 overs (Ashutosh Aman 75, Vikrant Singh 57, Rishav Raj 52; Rajesh Bishnoi 5/103, Nabam Abo 3/47). Arunachal Pradesh won by 15 runs. Points: Arunachal Pradesh 6, Bihar 0.
At Eden Gardens: Nagaland 509 and 295/5 declared versus Mizoram 95 and 261 in 93.4 overs (Taruwar Kohli 151 not out; Imliwati Lemtur 4/49). Nagaland won by 448 runs. Points: Nagaland 6, Mizoram 0.
At Jadavpur University Second Campus: Sikkim 464 and 228/3 declared in 60 overs (Codanda Ajit Karthik 104, Nilesh Lamichaney 50) versus Manipur 324 and 176 in 72.3 overs (Langlonyamba Meitan Keishangbam 30, L Kishan Singha 30; Sumit Singh 3/15). Sikkim won by 190 runs. Points: Sikkim 6, Manipur 0.
