Ranji Trophy: Mumbai sneak into quarters; J&K relegated

Karnataka, already assured of a berth in the last eight before the start of the game, finished on top of the Group with 33 points, including the one point earned in this match, while Tamil Nadu finished second with 29 points after defeating Baroda by seven wickets in the latter’s backyard.

The result of two other games held concurrently in the group – Madhya Pradesh against Bengal at Indore and Railways against Uttar Pradesh at Delhi – also helped Mumbai’s entry into the last eight.

The quarterfinals have been scheduled at Lahli, Jaipur, Indore and Cuttack from February 15-19.

On Monday, Mumbai wanted to make some quick runs and set a target for Karnataka but lost wickets at regular intervals against the double spin attack of off spinner Udit Patel and leg spinner Shreyas Gopal before declaring their second innings at 223 for eight.

Brief scores: Mumbai: 436 & 223 for eight decl. (Suryakumar Yadav 77 not out, Nikhil Patil 48; Udit Patel 4/55, Abhimanyu Mithun 2/37). Karnataka: 415 & 110 for one (Robin Uthappa 44 not out, Kunal Kapoor 50 not out).

Points: Mumbai 3; Karnataka 1.

Vijay helps Tamil Nadu qualify for quarterfinals

Opener Murali Vijay’s unbeaten 104 on the fourth and final day helped Tamil Nadu trounce Baroda by seven wickets and qualify for the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals.

Chasing 206 for a win at the the Moti Bagh Stadium, the Abhinav Mukund-led Tamil Nadu eased to their target in the second session of play and earned six points.

Tamil Nadu finished second with 29 points after defeating Baroda by seven wickets in the latter’s backyard.

Brief Scores: Baroda 149 and 245 Tamil Nadu 188 and 207/3 in 50.2 overs (Murali Vijay 104 not out, Dinesh Karthik 35, Vijay Shankar 26 not out; Sagar Mangalorkar (2-69)

Points: Baroda 0 Tamil Nadu 6.

Wriddhiman’s 92 saves Bengal from relegation

Wriddhiman Saha’s match-saving innings of 92 enabled Bengal to get a point against Madhya Pradesh as they were able to avoid the ignominy of relegation from group B of the Ranji Trophy, by virtue of a drawn game.

The precious point that Bengal got courtesy Wriddhiman and Saurashish Lahiri (48 no) took their points tally to 13 –
one more than Jammu and Kashmir, who had finished their league engagements with 12 points from eight games.

Bengal thus managed to stay afloat in the elite tier despite finishing a horrible eighth out of nine teams. The other aspect of the match was Madhya Pradesh, who looked all but certain after the first session to make it to the quarter -finals, finished at 19 points – one short of 40-time champions Mumbai, who were lucky to qualify.

Brief Scores: Madhya Pradesh 514/6 dec, Bengal 219 and 303/8 (Wriddhiman Saha 92, Abhishek Das 69, Saurashish Lahiri 48 no, Puneet Datey 4/72). Match Drawn.

Points: MP 3; Bengal 1.

Ekalavya’s superb ton saves UP from relegation blushes

Uttar Pradesh’s wicketkeeper-batsman Ekalavya Dwivedi blasted his way to an unbeaten century as he got his team out of the woods by saving the relegation en route their seven wicket win against Railways in a Ranji Trophy match.

UP finished their league engagements with 15 points, to be ahead of Bengal who ended their campaign on 13 points.

Jammu and Kashmir got relegated ending with 12 points from eight games. Railways, who could have qualified with an outright win finished on 16 points and stayed at the mid-table.

Chasing a target of 243, UP achieved the target in 74.4 overs as Ekalavya smashed his way to an unbeaten 102 off 73 balls that had 15 fours and three big sixes. He completed his century with a huge straight six off left-arm spinner Ashish Yadav.

Brief Scores: Railways 345 and 189. Uttar Pradesh 292 and 246/3 (Ekalavya Dwivedi 102 no, Tanmay Srivastava 53, Himashu Asnora 42, Umang Sharma 35 batting).

Points: UP 6; Railways 0.