MATCH REPORTRising 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: 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).
Sarfaraz ton send Mumbai through to quarters
Sarfaraz Khan continued his sensational run in the Ranji Trophy 2022 with 165 off 181 balls against Odisha as Mumbai won by an innings and 108 runs in their final Elite Group D match at Ahmedabad. The win also sealed the record champions' first quarterfinal qualification since 2017-18 season.
Odisha's second innings got off to a worst start as at the end of day 3 as Shams Mulani (5-64) shot down the top-order to have them reeling at 84/5. Abhishek Raut fought back with 59, but Mulani, Siddharth Raut (2-44) and Tanush Kotian (3-31) ran through the batting order to wrap them up for 140.
Sarafaraz, who has now scored 551 runs in three matches at a stunning average of 137.75, added 277 for the fourth wicket alongside Armaan Jaffer who scored a patient 125 off 223 balls while Aditya Tare (72) and Mulani (70) scored fifties before Mumbai declared at 532/9. Former India vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane was dismissed for a first-ball duck by Rajesh Mohanty while opener Prithvi Shaw scored a brisk 53 off 64 balls which included six boundaries and two sixes.
Jharkhand downs Tamil Nadu by two wickets
Skipper Saurabh Tiwary struck a match-winning 93 while Kumar Kushagra made 50 to guide Jharkhand to the knockout stage of the Ranji Trophy with a two-wicket win over heavyweights Tamil Nadu in their last elite group H match.
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.
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).
UP stun Maharashtra
Uttar Pradesh stunned Maharashtra by six wickets in their Ranji Trophy elite group G match to qualify for the knock-outs. 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.
After the dismissal of Shaukat, Sharma found an able ally in Rinku, who smashed five boundaries and four sixes, as the duo added 89 runs for the fourth wicket. 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.
Haryana thrash Himachal
Haryana secured a massive 281-run win over Himachal Pradesh with an all-round show, 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 knockout berth from Group F after registering a six-wicket win over Tripura on Saturday. Resuming at 102 for six, Haryana declared their second essay for 320 for nine. 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, once again was the wrecker-in-chief as he grabbed 4 for 34 to return with 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. Points: Haryana 6, Himachal Pradesh 0.
Karnataka thump Puducherry
Karnataka thrashed Puducherry by an innings and 20 runs on the fourth and final day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match to qualify for the knockout 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 four 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 as he took five wickets. India pacer Prasidh Krishna picked up three wickets, including that of veteran Paras Dogra (14) and captain D Rohit (12), who made a century in the first innings. Left-handed batter Pavan Deshpande fought a lonely battle, remaining not out on 54 off 119 balls, but none of the others could support him.
In the other group match, Railways completed a win over 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.
Nagaland increase gap at top
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.
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.
Bengal ease past Chandigarh
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.
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.
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.
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