Ranji wrap, Round 9, Day 4: Delhi knocked out after stunning four-run loss

Group A

Mumbai vs Punjab, Rajkot

Shreyas Iyer's 209-ball 123 steered Mumbai to a well-earned draw against Punjab at stumps on the final day in Rajkot on December 10 (Saturday). Suryakumar Yadav (27 not out) and Aditya Tare (22 not out) also played resilient hands. As the match ended in a draw, Punjab's slim hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals were dashed. Mumbai, on the other hand, progressed to the quarterfinal stage as the table-toppers in Group A with 30 points.

After Mumbai were forced to follow-on, they were in a spot of bother at stumps on Day 3. However, Iyer held the innings together to take them to calmer waters. He was eventually dismissed for 123 by Rajwinder Singh, but by then, Mumbai looked set to salvage a draw. Earlier, Manpreet Gony had bowled an incisive spell to bundle out Mumbai for 185 in their first innings and Punjab had enforced the follow-on.

Brief scores: Punjab 468 (Mayank Sidhana 115; Suryakumar Yadav 4-47) drew with Mumbai 185 (Shardul Thakur 70; Manpreet Gony 4-39) and 227/4 (Shreyas Iyer 123; Rajwinder Singh 2-88)

Uttar Pradesh vs Baroda, Nasik

Shivam Chaudhary (124) and Akshdeep Nath (107 not out) compiled centuries to power Uttar Pradesh to 417 for 3 in their second innings against Baroda before the match ended in a tame draw in Nasik.

Almas Shaukat (91) and Rinku Singh (83) also contributed useful hands. Baroda used as many as six bowlers in the second innings, but couldn't make further incisions into the opposition's line-up. Rishi Arothe bagged two scalps for Baroda. Even before the match had commenced, both teams were already out of contention to qualify for the quarterfinals.

Brief scores: Uttar Pradesh 481 (Kuldeep Yadav 117; Sagar Mangalorkar 3-89) & 417/3 (Shivam Chaudhary 124; Rishi Arother 2-77) drew with Baroda 458 (Kedar Devdhar 157, Swapnil Singh 95; Imtiaz Ahmed 4-126)

Tamil Nadu v Gujarat, Belagavi

Tamil Nadu's batsmen continued to pile on the runs on the final day to end up with 580 for 6 declared, in front by 273, as the match ended in a stalemate. Kaushik Gandhi grafted a determined 202, while Vijay Shankar amassed a well-measured hundred. Both Tamil Nadu and Gujarat finished with 26 points and qualified for the quarter-finals. Mumbai topped Group A with 30 points against their name.

Both teams largely played out for a draw on Day 4. Gujarat spread out the field and Tamil Nadu's batsmen didn't seem to be in any hurry to push the scoring rate along. Gandhi, who resumed on his overnight score of 150, defended with a stout blade and when presented with the opportunity, played the aggressive shot. His patient vigil at the crease was rewarded as he composed his maiden double ton with a cut shot that raced away to the boundary boards. However, after reaching the landmark, he was castled by Hardik Patel.

Shankar, who trudged back to the pavilion, after he injured his back returned to the middle after the fall of Aswin Crist's wicket to compile a hundred. However, after he netted in his fourth first-class century, he soon retired out and Tamil Nadu declared. With just about one hour left for the final day to end, captains from both sides decided to shake hands.

Brief scores: Gujarat 307 (Priyank Panchal 113; T Natarajan 3-86) drew with Tamil Nadu 580/6 decl. (Kaushik Gandhi 202, Vijay Shankar 102; Rush Kalaria 2-47)

Madhya Pradesh vs Bengal, Delhi

Bengal couldn't force a result against Madhya Pradesh, and just like the other three games in Group A, it turned out to be astalemate. Abhishek Raman top-scored for Bengal with a well-measured innings of 91. Prosenjit Das and Manoj Tiwary also essayed useful fifties. Bengal finished fifth on the points table with 21 and Madhya Pradesh slotted in at theNo.6 position on the table with 20.

Puneet Datey and Ankit Sharma snared one scalp each for Madhya Pradesh in the second essay. Going into the final day, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat had almost booked their places in the quarterfinals. So, the two sides didn't have much to play for.

Brief scores: Bengal 475/9 decl. (Shreevats Goswami 225*; Puneet Datey 4-105) and 261/2 (Abhishek Raman 91; Puneet Datey 1-26) drew with Madhya Pradesh 370 (Ankit Sharma 94, Rajat Patidar 86; Sayan Ghosh 5-94)

Group B

Delhi vs Saurashtra, Vadodara

Saurashtra registered a superb come-from-behind victory to hand Delhi a four-run defeat, and with that, end their Ranji Trophy campaign this season. Even as the result didn't have any bearing on Saurashtra, apart from helping them move up to the seventh position on the points table, it ensured Odisha's smooth passage to the quarterfinals with one game to go.

Courtesy KM Parmar's 149, Aarpit Vasavada's 89, Jaydev Unadkat's quickfire 80 and Shaurya Sanandia's three- wicket haul, Saurashtra had already turned the match on its head, but it still remained even-stevens going into the final day.

Resuming Day 4 on 102 for 4, overnight batsmen Rishabh Pant and Milind Kumar started cautiously. The wicketkeeper-batsman, especially, curbed his natural instinct to attack and played an uncharacteristic knock. Together, they put on 64 runs for the fifth wicket, before Pant fell to Sanandia. Nonetheless, Milind continued to construct Delhi's chase in the company of Manan Sharma with another half-century stand, before he too was snared by Sanandia - becoming his fifth scalp of the innings.

The wickets continued to fall at regular intervals with KD Patel and Jaydev Unadkat joining forces to take the remaining four wickets. The penultimate wicket fell with 16 runs needed. Pradeep Sangwan scored a couple of boundaries to bring the margin down, before the last man Navdeep Saini was trapped leg-before-wicket, five runs short of the target of 276.

Brief scores: Saurashtra 92 (Prerak Mankad 33; Pradeep Sangwan 4-25) & 420 (KM Parmar 149; Navdeep Saini 3-122) beat Delhi 237 (Pradeep Sangwan 75; Kushang Patel 5-72) & 271 (Milind Kumar 55; Shauriya Sanandia 5-93) by 4 runs.

Vidarbha vs Team Rajasthan, Greater Noida

Ganesh Satish (63 not out) and SK Wath's (64) half- centuries helped Vidarbha beat Team Rajasthan by six wickets on the final day of the group stage to end their campaign on the sixth position with 20 points. With neither relegation nor qualification to play for, it was a dead-rubber which got over in the final session of the day.

Needing 188 runs to win, Vidarbha lost openers Sanjay Ramaswamy and Faiz Fazal early, with only 22 runs on the board. However, Satish and Wath resurrected the chase with a 103-run stand for the third wicket, before Wath was dismissed by Pankaj Singh. It was the Rajasthan skipper's 351st wicket - equalling him with Madan Lal as the second most successful pacer in Ranji Trophy.

Joginder Sharma and Shahlabh Shrivastava made handy contributions and assisted Satish as Vidarbha went past the target with ease.

Brief scores: Team Rajasthan 140 (Manender Singh 27; Aditya Sarwate 3-22) & 163 (Amitkumar Gautam 51; Lalit Yadav 6-60) lost to Vidarbha 116 (Siddesh Wath 50; Tanveer-ul-Haq 6-21) & 191/4 (SK Wath 64; Pankaj Singh 2-96) by 6 wickets.

Group C

Andhra vs Hyderabad, Lucknow

Only 40 overs were bowled on the final day as Hyderabad managed to eke out a draw and qualify for the knockouts. Resuming at 13 for 1 at the Ekana International Cricket Stadium in Lucknow, Hyderabad lost Balchander Anirudh early for 2 as he was bowled by Siva Kumar. The batsmen went into a shell knowing that a draw would help them go through but Andhra were determined to put up a fight as only a win would have seen them go past Hyderabad and occupy the second spot.

Bavanaka Sandeep and Akshath Reddy were then dismissed in the space of three overs but skipper Subramaniam Badrinath held fort at the other end and was unbeaten on 14 off 83 balls. Following the draw, Hyderabad finished on top while Andhra finished third with 28 points.

Brief scores: Andhra 190 (Manyala Pranith 63; Chama Milind 5-28) & 171/6 decl. (Hanuma Vihari 57; Mohammed Siraj 4-52) drew with Hyderabad 143 (Chama Milind 29*; Paidikalva Vijaykumar 4-40) & 56/5 (Vijaykumar 2-13)

Goa vs Himachal Pradesh, Mumbai

Himachal Pradesh picked up a consolation win on the final day against Goa in Mumbai to finish their campaign on a high note. This match was an inconsequential one with both teams out of the reckoning for a place in the quarterfinals but Himachal would be pretty pleased to finish with a win that left them at the fourth spot in Group C.

Resuming at 99 for 2, Goa were all out for 286 after Darshan Misal struck his second century of the game. Himachal then took a positive approach chasing 139 as Paras Dogra hit an unbeaten half-century and put on 64 for the fourth wicket with Robin Bist, who remained unbeaten on 29 off just 28 balls. Prashant Chopra, who made a monumental 194 in the first innings was named the player of the match.

Brief scores: Goa 380 (Darshan Misal 106; Akshay Chauhan 3-80) & 286 (Darshan Misal 119; Gurvinder Singh 4-82) lost to Himachal Pradesh 528 (Prashant Chopra 194; Rituraj Singh 3-89) & 139/3 (Paras Dogra 55*; Amulaya Pandrekar 2-31) by 7 wickets.

Chhattisgarh vs Jammu & Kashmir, Gwalior

Jammu and Kashmir survived a few nervy moments in the final session on the final day to escape with a point against Chhattisgarh in Gwalior. In what was another inconsequential game, Jammu and Kashmir started off well in their pursuit of 393 with Shubham Khajuria and Pranav Gupta scoring half-centuries but Khajuria and Ian Dev Singh fell in quick succession. Skipper Parvez Rasool then hit an enterprising 66 but two wickets in two balls gave Chhattisgarh an opening to fetch a win.

The tail though had other ideas and batted out the final few overs to finish with a draw. Earlier in the day, Amandeep Khare's unbeaten 117 off just 91 balls helped Chhattisgarh declare at 264 for 3. He was aided by Manoj Singh, who made 85 from 142 deliveries. While J&K finish on the 8th spot, debutants Chhattisgarh ended up a spot below them.

Brief scores: Chhattisgarh 370 (Amandeep Khare 106; Samiullah Beigh 5-94) & 264/3 (Amandeep Khare 117*; Parvez Rasool 3-56) drew with Jammu & Kashmir 242 (Parvez Rasool 92; Sumit Ruikar 5-59) & 243/7 (Shubham Khajuria 72; Ajay Mandal 3-60)

Services vs Kerala, Delhi

Sachin Baby's unbeaten double century was the highlight on the final day between Services and Kerala in Delhi as the game ended in a tame draw. Resuming at 51 runs short of the first innings total posted by Services, Kerala batted out 64 overs on the final day and frustrated the Services bowlers by not losing even a single wicket.

Overnight centurion Sachin Baby smashed 22 fours and four sixes to post his highest first-class and remained unbeaten on 250. Akshay Chandran who was batting on 6 overnight, helped himself to a century before his side declared. Kerala finished fifth on the table while Services finished seventh.

Brief scores: Services 322 (Anshul Gupta 105, Rahul Singh 71; Athif Bin Ashraf 4-60) drew with Kerala 518/5 decl. (Sachin Baby 250*, Akshay Chandran 102*; Irfan Khan 3-118)