RANJI ROUND-UP
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1st QF: Vidarbha vs Karnataka in Nagpur - Vidarbha won by 127 runs
2nd QF: Mumbai vs Baroda in Mumbai (BKC) - Match drawn (Mumbai 1st inns lead)
3rd QF: Saurashtra vs Tamil Nadu in Coimbatore - Tamil Nadu won by an innings and 33 runs
4th QF: Madhya Pradesh vs Andhra in Indore - Madhya Pradesh won by four runs
Top performers of the QFs
R Sai Kishore (Tamil Nadu)
Tamil Nadu made it to the semi-final after five Ranji Trophy seasons. In fact, the last time they played in a QF was in the same season in which they reached the SF (2016/17). Playing against the defending champs, skipper Sai Kishore played a crucial role with both bat and ball. In the first innings, his 5/66 restricted Saurashtra to a paltry total of 183. He then came in at No.3 and scored a valuable 60. In the second innings, he ended up with 4/27. His all-round efforts helped Tamil Nadu beat the 2022/23 season champions.
Also read: Sai Kishore's Tamil Nadu bear the fruit of a seed that was sowed last year
Musheer Khan (Mumbai)
Musheer made sure that Mumbai didn't miss his brother Sarfaraz Khan. After scoring over 350 runs in seven innings at the Under-19 World Cup a few months back, Musheer continued from where he had left off. Playing his first match of the season, the right-hander scored an unbeaten 203. He scored 53% of the teams' total. The only other batter who scored 50+ for Mumbai in the first innings was Hardik Tamore. In the second innings, when Mumbai were looking for quick runs, he smashed a 25-ball 33. His first innings heroics helped Mumbai to take a 36-run lead. He bowled 12 overs, conceding only 21 runs and a wicket. Mumbai qualified for the SF based on the first innings lead.
Vidwath Kaverappa (Karnataka)
The Karnataka pacer has been in sensational form in the last few years. In the quarters, the bowler led a lone battle in the bowling department. Despite his ten-wicket haul, a four-for in the first innings and six-for in the second, Karnataka fell short by a significant margin of 127 runs. He played only five matches for Karnataka this season and picked up 25 wickets at an average of 20.2.
Anubhav Agarwal (Madhya Pradesh)
The 2021/22 season winners, Madhya Pradesh, were in a state of bother in both innings after a batting failure. Batting first, they mounted a meager total of 234. But Anubhav Agarwal ensured that MP did not suffer too much as he picked up three wickets for just 33 runs at an economy of 1.83. MP took the first innings lead (62 runs) thanks to his and other bowlers' efforts. However, another batting failure saw Andhra chasing only 170 runs. Once again, the right-arm medium pace of Anubhav helped MP qualify by the barest of margins. His spells 3/33 & 6/52 led him to be adjudged the Player of the Match.
Bhargav Bhatt (Baroda)
The left-arm spinner might have ended up on the wrong side of the result, but his herculean effort needs to be lauded. Bhargav Bhat ended the match with a spell of 14/312. He had a seven-wicket split across both innings. In the process, he became the first Baroda bowler to bag 14 wickets in a match in FC cricket.
Other performers from QF
Aditya Sarvate (Vidarbha) - 3/50 & 4/78 || 26 & 29 vs Karnataka
Tanush Kotian (Mumbai) - 2/49 & 2/16 || 7 & 120* vs Baroda
Tushar Deshpande (Mumbai) - 2/52 & 0/14 || 0 & 123 vs Baroda
Shashwat Rawat (Baroda) - 124 & 32 vs Mumbai
Hardik Tamore (Mumbai) - 57 & 114 vs Baroda
KV Sasikanth (Andhra) - 4/37 & 3/50 vs Madhya Pradesh
Youngsters who shone
Priyanshu Moliya (Baroda)
Playing his first game of the season, Priyanshu Moliya suffered a horror start as the batter, who represented India at the U19 WC last month, scored only one run in the first innings. But he bounced back strongly and scored a well-compiled 54 in the second innings.
Nitish Kumar Reddy (Andhra)
The 20-year-old fast bowler has been a key cog for Andhra all season. In the quarter-final against MP, Nitish Kumar picked up three wickets in the first innings and four in the second. Overall this season, he has bagged 25 wickets, the most for Andhra, and to go with it, he has 366 runs in 11 innings. He is among the nine players to achieve the double 250+ runs and 25+ wickets this season.
Ajith Ram
In a team with Sai Kishore as the lead left-arm spinner, it takes a lot for another bowler of the same type to be on par with him. Ajith Ram impressed everyone in his debut season last year, but he has bettered it in his second. The 25-year-old spinner picked up five wickets in total, three in the first and two in the second. He has bagged 41 wickets this season at an average of 14.1.
Atharva Thaide (Vidarbha)
Vidarbha amassed 460 runs in the first innings against Karnataka. Apart from Aditya Thakare (#11), every other batter reached double digits. While Yash Rathod (93) & Karun Nair (90) missed out on centuries, Atharva Taide went onto register 109.
International players performances
Mayank Agarwal (Karnataka)
The Karnataka skipper blew hot and cold in the QF against Vidarbha. While the opener suffered a two-ball duck in the first innings, he bounced back with a 98-ball 70 in the second. In any case, it was too late as Karnataka lost the game by 127 runs.
Prithvi Shaw (Mumbai)
The dashing opener from Mumbai got a start in the first innings (33 of 46) but couldn't convert it into a big score. In the second, he did not open the innings owing to an injury. However, that did not hamper his performance. Batting at number five, his brisk innings of 87 at a strike rate of 93 helped Mumbai extend the lead.
Hanuma Vihari (Andhra)
Andhra needed their premier batter to step up in the chase of 170, and Hanuma Vihari almost did it. Though the batter failed in the first innings (14), he kept Andhra in the game till he was batting. posting an invaluable 55. Andhra tried to crawl after his dismissal, but MP eked out a win.
Disappointments
Cheteshwar Pujara (Saurashtra)
The defending champions crashed out in a demoralizing manner. Batting first, they could score only 183 runs, and their main man, Cheteshwar Pujara, was dismissed for just two runs. In the second innings, he was Saurashtra's highest scorer with 46. Even after losing the first innings lead and trailing by 155, the issue was that none of their batters even tried to cut the deficit, including Pujara.
Shardul Thakur (Mumbai)
Following a 10-wicket haul against Assam, Shardul Thakur was utterly ineffective in the game against Baroda, with both bat and ball. The fast bowler scalped only one wicket in the first innings and none in the second. With the bat, he scored 17 and 10.
What made the news this week?
Is that even a question? Nothing can beat the silence broken by Vihari over his Andhra captaincy. When the QF match between Andhra and MP ended, Vihari took to Instagram to express his grief and mentioned, "I will never play for Andhra again." For more news about this, read here.
Semi-final fixtures
Vidarbha vs Madhya Pradesh - March 02-06, Nagpur VCA
Mumbai vs Tamil Nadu - March 02-06, Mumbai BKC
