Ranji Trophy wrap: Bengal, Karnataka reach quarter-finals, Delhi knocked out

Bengal and Karnataka scripted contrasting wins over Punjab and Baroda respectively to qualify for the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals on Friday. The results on day three of the final round of Ranji Trophy also knocked Delhi out of the tournament.

Punjab, needing 190 runs for victory, fluffed their run chase to be bowled out for 141, handing Bengal a 48-run victory. Spinners dominated the game with Bengal left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed picking up four wickets in the second innings to take his match-haul to 11. Resuming day three at 199/9, Bengal scored only three runs to set Punjab a 190-run target.

It turned out to be enough in a low-scoring game with Punjab getting bowled out in 47.3 overs. Ramandeep Singh (69 not out off 104) ran out of partners in the end. Bengal gained six points from the win, pushing them on the top of the standings. In Bengaluru, Karnataka advanced to the quarter-finals with an eight-wicket win over Baroda.

It was an improved batting effort from Baroda in the second innings after being shot out for 85 on day one. They ended their second innings at 296 all out, setting Karnataka a 149-run target, which the hosts reached in 44.4 overs with the loss of just two wickets. Karnataka skipper Karun Nair took the team over the line with an unbeaten 71 off 126 balls.

At the Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi made Rajasthan follow-on after bowling them out for 299 in the first innings in response to their mammoth 623. Rajasthan captain Ashok Menaria scored a gritty 119 but he did not get support from the other batsmen. Following-on, Rajasthan were 128 for in their second innings, trailing Delhi by 196 runs.

Vasavada leads Saurashtra fightback

Senior pro Arpit Vasavada came up with a gritty unbeaten 126 to lead Saurashtra’s fightback on the third day against Tamil Nadu in Rajkot. The result of this match would not affect Saurashtra’s fortunes as they have already qualified for the knock-outs.

With Karnataka and Bengal winning their respective final league matches, Tamil Nadu are out of the reckoning. As a result of Vasavada’s resolute century, Saurashtra ended the third day at 346/6, adrift by 76 runs. Tamil Nadu made 424 in the first innings built on N Jagadeesan’s knock of 183. The hosts started the penultimate day on 107/3.

Wicket-keeper Avi Barot (82) and Vasavada (126*) stitched together a 108-run stand for the fourth wicket as they tried to rebuild the innings after top-order collapse on the second day. Barot missed his hundred by 18 runs as he edged to wicket-keeper Jagadeesan off right-arm medium pacer K Vignesh.

Another right-arm medium pacer M Mohammed removed Samarth Vyas (10) cheaply as the hosts lost half of their side for 213. Young left-arm spinner M Siddharth then trapped Prerak Mankad (13) in front of the wicket as Vasadava appeared to be running out of partners. The hosts went to tea at 252/6, still adrift by 172 runs.

Haryana require 121 for win with five wickets in hand

A seven-wicket haul by Jayant Yadav helped Haryana bounce back into contention on the third day against Jammu and Kashmir in Jammu on Friday. The off-spinner took a career-best seven for 58 to bowl out the home team for 174, leaving Haryana to chase 224 for an outright victory.

The home team then picked up five wickets as Haryana finished the day at 103/5, requiring another 121. J & K had gained a first-innings lead after bowling out Haryana for 291 in response to their 340.

The home team failed to build on a good start in the second innings with openers Suryansh Raina (38) and Jiyad Magrey (16) putting on 55 runs before Yadav got into the act.

He got the key wickets of Raina, Shubham Khajuria (9) and Shubham Pundir (12) to trigger a collapse. Captain Parvez Rasool looked good till he was run-out for 29 by Chaitanya Bishnoi.

In the second innings, Haryana lost wickets at regular intervals as Rasool (3 for 35) dismissed first-innings centurion Pramod Chandila (1), apart from opener Himanshu Rana (24) and Yashu Sharma (24).

Brief scores

Jammu & Kashmir 340 (Shubham Singh Pundir 84, Shubham Kajuria 62, Parvez Rasool 49, Ram Dayal 43; Rahul Tewatia 7/98) and 174 (Suryansh Raina 38, Parvez Rasool 29; Jayant Yadav 7/58) vs Haryana 291 (Pramod Chandilla 119, Ankit Kumar 63, RP Sharma 41; Mujtaba Yousuf 6/49) and 103/5 (Chaitanya Bishnoi 31, Himanshu Rana 24; Parvez Rasool 3/35).

At Guwahati: Tripura 497 (M B Mura Singh 118, AA Sinha 90, Pratyush Singh 63, Milind 53, Harmeet Singh 41; Ranjeet Mali 5/114) and 76/5 (Milind 36*; Mukthar Hussain 3/41) vs Assam 283 (Rishav Das 132, Gokul Sharma 41; Harmeet Singh 6/110, Mura Singh 3/51).

At Baramati: Maharashtra 207 (A Palkar 60, VV More 59, N S Shaikh 47; Agrim Tiwari 3/49, Pradeep Chamoli 3/52) and 313 (Satyajit Bachhav 67, Ankit Bawane 61, Swapnil Fulpagar 51; Sunny Rana 7/43) vs Uttarakhand 251 (Kamal Singh 101, Saurabh Rawat 49, Vaibhav Bhatt 33; Satyajit Bachhav 4/71) and 103/2 (Kamal Singh 40*, D Negi 38).

At Cuttack: Odisha 436 (Debasish Samantray 156, Biplab Samantaray 74, Anurag Sarangi 65; Ashish Kumar 6/79) vs Jharkhand 355/9 (Kumar Suraj 107, Virat Singh 83; Suryankant Pradhan 3/86).

At Raipur: Chhattisgarh 179 (Amandeep Khare 97; Raushan Raj 4/53) and 325/1 (Jiwanjot Singh 152, Harpreet Singh Bhatia 101*, AG Tiwary 50 retired hurt) vs Services 398 (Rahul Singh Gahlaut 115, Rajat Paliwal 91; Puneet Datey 5/60).

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