Valsad: The spin duo of Iqbal Abdulla and Vishal Dabholkar shared nine wickets between them as Mumbai registered a 27-run victory over Gujarat to sail into the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals, here today.
Mumbai thus, with 29 points became the third team from Group A to join table toppers Karnataka (38) and Punjab (30) in the knockout round. 40-time champions Mumbai, who conceded a lead in the first innings, recovered amazingly to bowl out Gujarat for 147 in 56 overs on the final day at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium.
Left-arm spinner Vishal Dabholkar picked four for 33 besides Abdullah's all-round performance. Starting the day at 67 for three, overnight batsmen Askhar Patel and Bhargav Merai took Gujarat to 104 without any further loss.
But then Dabholkar got the breakthrough by claiming the wicket of Merai (36), and when Patel was bowled by Suryakumar Yadav for 65 Mumbai got the sniff of a victory. Gujarat's last six wickets fell for just 12 runs in 11.2 overs as Abdullah and Dabholkar polished off the tail.
Abdullah ended the second innings with bowling figures of five for 44 in addition to his 6/42 in the first innings. He also scored 68 runs (30 in the first innings and 38 in the second) in the low-scoring match. While Patel hit 10 fours in his 99-ball knock, Merai had four boundaries in their 76-run stand for the fourth wicket.
Brief Scores: Mumbai: 154 & 273. Gujarat: 253 & 147 all out in 56 overs (Askhar Patel 65, Bhargav Merai 36; Iqbal Abdulla 5/44). Points Mumbai 6, Gujarat 0.
Karnataka thrashes Delhi by eight wickets
Karnataka thrashes Delhi by eight wickets
New Delhi: It was a thorough professional performance by Karnataka as they crushed hosts Delhi by eight wickets to end their Ranji Trophy group league engagements as table toppers with 38 points from eight games.
The visitors got some nice match practice ahead of their quarterfinal match, as they chased down a paltry victory target of 115 in 29 overs after dismissing Delhi for 201 in 77.4 overs. This was Karnataka's fifth outright win this season.
Opener Mayank Agarwal clobbered the Delhi spinners scoring 68 off 96 balls as the match finished well before tea. Mayank, who plays for Royal Challengers Bangalore hit six fours and three sixes.
For Delhi, this was a season they would like to forget as senior players like Virender Sehwag became a liability for the team without any significant contribution throughout the series. The youngsters like Vaibhav Rawal, Unmukt Chand weren't consistent enough and the bowling was largely dependant on Ashish Nehra (28 wickets), while the other bowlers didn't complement the veteran pacer as they ideally should have.
Fittingly, Karnataka outbatted, outbowled and outfielded Delhi in this match to show why they have been one of the most consistent domestic teams this season. Even without the services of Robin Uthappa, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Mithun, they looked like a formidable force.
It was a matter of time on the final day for Karnataka to coast to victory. The wickets were shared by pacers Ronit More (3/39), HS Sharath (3/35) along with leggie Shreyash Gopal (3/23) and left-arm spinner Abrar Kazi (1/18).
Starting the day at 132 for six, Delhi lost their seventh wicket when Sharath cleaned up Varun Sood (0). Although Milind Kumar (31 not out off 100 balls) and Sumit Narwal (21) added 40 runs for the eighth wicket, they did not show any positive intent deadbatting anything and everything.
Finally Kazi got one to just roll down as Narwal was bowled. Nehra hit some lusty blows before he was stumped going for a slog sweep off Gopal's bowling. Gopal then claimed his third wicket when he got Manoj Chauhan to glove one to Manish Pandey at first slip.
Karnataka skipper R Vinay Kumar felt while the wicket was a difficult one but it was not under prepared. "Pitch was difficult to bat on but certainly not under prepared. Delhi didn't play badly but we played better than them," said Vinay Kumar.
Brief scores: Delhi: 202 & 201 (Virender Sehwag 11, Gautam Gambhir 26, Mithun Manhas 32). Karnataka: 289 & 115 for 2 (Mayank Agarwal 68 not out). Karnataka won by 8 wickets.
Rajasthan signs off Ranji campaign with a win
Rajasthan signs off Ranji campaign with a win
Jaipur: Rajasthan ended their Ranji Trophy campaign on a winning note after defeating Baroda by six wickets in their final Group B league match on the fifth and final day here today.
Baroda needed a win to advance to the quarterfinal stage but were simply outplayed by a better pace attack of Rajasthan led by Chahar Singh and Pankaj Singh who took nine and seven wickets respectively in the match at Sawai Mansingh Stadium.
The visiting side have already lost the plot yesterday after being reduced to 112 for six and they were ahead by just 15 runs with four second innings in hand when they began today.
Irfan Pathan, 52 overnight, was the lone hand to have given some resistance but none supported him at the other end. His brother and captain Yusuf, who did not take the field for two days due to a bout of fever, was forced to come out and bat but could score just seven.
Irfan (84) was the last man out as Baroda were all out for 167 from 48.2 overs, midway into the morning session. Chahar added three more wickets to his one yesterday to flatten Baroda's any chance of saving the match. He scalped the wickets of Gagandeep Singh (7), Yusuf Pathan (7) and Murtuja Vahora (3) before Aniket Choudhary ended the match by dismissing Irfan who hit eight fours and five sixes from 118 balls in his innings.
Rajasthan needed 13.4 overs to chase down the small target of 71 and wrapped up the match before lunch although their top order batsmen fumbled in their eagerness to finish early. They lost four wickets in the process.
Rajasthan, who had won the title in successive years in 2010-11 and 2011-12, wrapped up their campaign with two outright victories to finish sixth in the nine-team table with 20 points, same as Baroda, who finished one rung higher only because they had three wins.
Top three teams each from Group A and B and two from Group C make it to the quarterfinals.
Brief Scores: Rajasthan: 333 and 74 for 4 in 13.4 overs. Baroda: 236 and 167 all out in 48.2 overs (Irfan Pathan 84, Deepak Chahar 4/40).
Maha beat Assam by 128 runs, reach quarters of Ranji Trophy
Maha beat Assam by 128 runs, reach quarters of Ranji Trophy
Guwahati: Maharashtra qualified for the quarter-finals of the Ranji Trophy after notching an emphatic 128-run win over Assam on the final day of their Group 'C' match, here today.
Maharashtra ended their Ranji Trophy group league engagements as table toppers with 35 points from eight games.
Chasing 344 for victory, Assam required another 250 runs on the fourth day with six wickets remaining.
However, the hosts could manage to score 215 in their second innings with left-arm spinner Akshay Darekar picking up four for 84 while medium pacer Shrikant Mundhe finishing with two for 28.
This was Maharashtra's fourth outright win this season.
Starting the day at 94 for 4, overnight batsman Gokul Sharma (3) could add only one run to his individual score before being caught by wicketkeeper Rohit Motwani off Mundhe.
Syed Mohammad (11) too departed in quick succession, caught and bowled by Darekar.
Kunal Saikia and other overnight batsman Dheeraj Jadhav batted cautiously to raise a 52-run partnership for the seventh wicket before Darekar returned to send back the former for 32.
Jadhav, starting on 37, however, went on to complete his half-century even as wickets kept tumbling at the other end.
Jadhav departed after making a fighting 193-ball 61, laced with five fours.
Assam skipper Abu Nechim Ahmed played an attacking cameo of 46 towards the end but it was too late for the hosts.
Brief Scores:
Maharashtra: 361 and 134 beat Assam 152 and 215 in 72.4 overs (Dheeraj Jadhav 61, Abu Nechim Ahmed 46; Akshay Darekar 4/84).
Points: Maharashtra 6, Assam 0.
J&K makes it to Ranji Trophy quarters first time since 2000
J&K makes it to Ranji Trophy quarters first time since 2000
Agartala: In a fantastic achievement, the Jammu and Kashmir cricket team today qualified for Ranji Trophy quarterfinals for the first time since 2000, following a draw against Tripura in their final Group C league match, here today.
The J&K team had taken the first innings lead and the draw was a expected result. With three points from the tie, J&K ended tied on 28 points with Goa but qualified on the basis of their marginally better points quotient.
J&K had a quotient of 1.006 as against Goa's 1.005 after the valley team ended the fourth and final day at 87 for two in a chase of 228.
J&K will play against Punjab at Baroda from January 8.
The hosts began the day at a solid 103 for two but were all out for 272 as spinner Perveez Rasool claimed seven wickets at the expense of 87 runs.
Tripura's overnight batsmen Abhijit Dey (63), Kaushal Acharjee (35) began cautiously and had extended their partnership to 78 runs but Rasool dismissed both in a gap of four overs.
After that skipper Yogesh Takawale (28) and Manisankar Murasingh (37) resisted the J&K attack for some time but eventually they were bundled out for 272 runs on the board.
The visitors then lost Adil Rishi (1) and Ian Dev Singh (9) cheaply but Bandeep Singh (37) and Perveez Rasool (35) batted well after that and easily drew the game.
Brief Scores:
Tripura 280 and 272 in 103.5 overs.(Abhijit Dey 63, Kaushik Acharjee 35; Perveez Rasool 7/87).
Jammu and Kashmir: 325 and 87 for 2 in 25 overs.(Perveez Rasool 37 not out, Bandeep Singh 37; Manisankar Murasingh 1/12).
Mumbai meet Maharashtra while Bengal pitted against Railways
Mumbai meet Maharashtra while Bengal pitted against Railways
Mumbai: Defending champions Mumbai are to clash with group C toppers Maharashtra in one of the four quarter finals while Bengal who beat a formidable Tamil Nadu side in their last group league match will meet Railways at the Eden Gardens.
The other two quarter finals, to be held concurrently, would see Karnataka clashing with Uttar Pradesh (match 3) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium and Punjab crossing swords with Jammu and Kashmir (match 4) at the neutral venue of Vadodara (Moti Baug ground).
The quarter final line-up was decided today by the Cricket Board following the conclusion of the league phase of the national tournament.
The BCCI also decided that the two semi finals of the tournament would be held concurrently from January 18-22 at Holkar Stadium in Indore (between winners of matches 1 and 2) and at PCA Stadium (between winners of matches 3 and 4) in Mohali.
The five-day final would be held at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium at Uppal in Hyderabad from January 29 to February 2, said BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel through a media release.
The Mumbai vs Maharashtra quarter final, the semi final at Mohali and the final would be telecast 'live'.
Dennis Smith of South Africa would be one of the field umpires in the trans-Sahyadri clash between 40-time winners Mumbai and Maharashtra, and the semi-final at Indore.
He would be travelling to India as part of the Umpire Exchange Programme between the BCCI and CSA (Cricket South Africa), Patel added.
Haryana vs Odisha Ranji match ends in a draw
Haryana vs Odisha Ranji match ends in a draw
Bhubaneswar: The Group A Ranji Trophy match between Haryana and Odisha ended in a tame draw on the fifth and final day here today with the visitors saving themselves from relegation.
The visitors had already ensured themselves another season in the top tier of Ranji Trophy yesterday by securing a first-innings lead of 384, and with Jharkhand losing heavily to Punjab, the final day was a mere formality for both teams.
Odisha, who began at 33 for no loss, were buoyed by a 120-run partnership for the second wicket between Govind Podder and Niranjan Behera, who scored 79 and 64 respectively.
Odisha lost quick wickets following Niranjan's dismissal in the 54th over, but the result of the game was never really in question.
Joginder Sharma and Jayant Yadav picked up two wickets each, as Odisha ended on 228 for 6 in 97 overs.
Odisha finished sixth in Group A with 12 points while Haryana ended at eighth in the nine-team table with 10 points. Both the teams have failed to make it to the quarterfinals.
Brief Scores:
Odisha: 242 and 228 for 6 in 97 overs (Govind Podder 79, Niranjan Behera 64).
Haryana: 626 for 4 dec (Rahul Dewan 273, Sachin Rana 157, Nitin Saini 102 not out).
Kerala earn 3 points against Hyderabad
Kerala earn 3 points against Hyderabad
Hyderabad: Kerala walked away with three points owing to their first innings lead in a Group C Ranji Trophy match against Hyderabad that ended in a draw on the fourth and final day, here.
Chasing a victory target of 367 runs, Kerala were 146 for two in their second innings at the close of play with VA Jagadeesh (57 not out) and Rohan Prem (32 not out) in the middle.
Resuming at 329 for five, Hyderabad were bowled out for 429 in their second innings with Amol Shinde (91) missing out on a century by just nine runs while Ashish Reddy (50) hitting an attacking half-century.
For Kerala, Nizar Niyas picked up three wickets for 97 runs, while CP Shahid, V Manoharan and P Prasanth accounted for two wickets each.
Brief scores:
Hyderabad: 201 and 429 all out in 131.2 overs (Hanuma Vihari 145, Amol Shinde 91, Ashsih Reddy 50; Nizar Niyas 3/97)
Kerala: 264 and 146 for 2 in 47 overs (N Surendran 57, VA Jagadeesh 57 not out; Ravi Kiran 2/29).
Points: Kerala 3, Hyderabad 1.
UP qualify for Ranji quarterfinals
UP qualify for Ranji quarterfinals
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh sealed their berth in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals after their final Group B league match against Railways ended in a draw on the fifth and final day here today.
Uttar Pradesh ended at second spot in Group B, ahead of Bengal -- who also qualified for the quarterfinals -- on a better quotient, while Railways are on top of the group with 28 points.
Uttar Pradesh opener Tanmay Srivastava scored 103 with 11 fours and a six, and combined with Umang Sharma for a third-wicket association that yielded 78 runs.
Srivastava was dismissed in the 71st over, but Umang remained unbeaten on 51 as the hosts ended at 231 for 3 from 77 overs.
Railways had begun the day at 460 for 4 with their overnight centurions Arindam Ghosh (181) and Mahesh Rawat (188) still at the crease, but left-arm spinner Ali Murtaza picked up four quick wickets before the visitors eventually declared at 518 for 9.
Uttar Pradesh will now go to Bangalore to face Karnataka in the quarterfinals while Railways face Bengal in Kolkata.
Brief Scores:
Railways: 518 for 9 dec in 167 overs (Mahesh Rawat 188, Arindam Ghosh 181; Ali Murtaza 4/112)
Uttar Pradesh: 231 for 3 in 77 overs (Tanmay Srivastava 103, Umang Sharma 51 not out).
UP qualify for Ranji quarterfinals
UP qualify for Ranji quarterfinals
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh sealed their berth in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals after their final Group B league match against Railways ended in a draw on the fifth and final day here today.
Uttar Pradesh ended at second spot in Group B, ahead of Bengal -- who also qualified for the quarterfinals -- on a better quotient, while Railways are on top of the group with 28 points.
Uttar Pradesh opener Tanmay Srivastava scored 103 with 11 fours and a six, and combined with Umang Sharma for a third-wicket association that yielded 78 runs.
Srivastava was dismissed in the 71st over, but Umang remained unbeaten on 51 as the hosts ended at 231 for 3 from 77 overs.
Railways had begun the day at 460 for 4 with their overnight centurions Arindam Ghosh (181) and Mahesh Rawat (188) still at the crease, but left-arm spinner Ali Murtaza picked up four quick wickets before the visitors eventually declared at 518 for 9.
Uttar Pradesh will now go to Bangalore to face Karnataka in the quarterfinals while Railways face Bengal in Kolkata.
Brief Scores:
Railways: 518 for 9 dec in 167 overs (Mahesh Rawat 188, Arindam Ghosh 181; Ali Murtaza 4/112)
Uttar Pradesh: 231 for 3 in 77 overs (Tanmay Srivastava 103, Umang Sharma 51 not out).
