Ranji Trophy round-up: Mumbai edge Tamil Nadu in thriller; Unmukt stars in Delhi's win

Mumbai edge past Tamil Nadu by one wicket in a thriller Mumbai: Ranji giants Mumbai pulled off a thrilling one-wicket win over Tamil Nadu despite visiting skipper Diensh Karthik’s brilliant 167 in the first innings of the Group B league encounter in Mumbai on Sunday. Chasing 236 for a win at Bandra Kurla Complex, the hosts saw fighting fifties from Shreyas Iyer (83) and Suryakumar Yadav (58) but could not save the regular fall of wickets to bag only six points by the skin of their teeth. [caption id=“attachment_2473222” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Mumbai Ranji team. PTI[/caption] Even after losing their top batsmen, Mumbai were looking well-placed at 202 for five, but Yadav’s wicket spelt trouble for the hosts even as left-arm spinner Rahil Shah (4-78) and off-spinner Malolan Rangarajan (3-44) got down to business. New-ball bowlers Aswin Crist and Mohammed also shared wicket apiece. Karthik’s first innings ton set the tone for the match as the visitors amassed 434 runs. In reply, Mumbai rode on Siddhesh Lad’s 150 to manage 294 runs. The third innings saw a complete turnaround for TN as they were skittled out for 95 with left-arm spinner Vishal Dabholkar bagging a seven-wicket haul. Mumbai now have 14 points from three matches and are very much in the race for a place in the knock-outs. TN have nine points from three matches with a win, a drawn game and a loss. Brief Scores: Tamil Nadu: 464 and 95 all out in 36 overs (Murali Vijay 29, Malola Rangarajan 33; Vishal Dabholkar 7-53) Mumbai: 294 and 236/9 in 60.4 overs (Shreyas Iyer 83, Suryakumar Yadav 58; Rahil Shah 4-78, Malolan Rangarajan 3-44). Unmukt stars in Delhi’s 4-wicket win against Haryana New Delhi: Opener Unmukt Chand scored a gritty 99 to help Delhi register a four-wicket win against Haryana even as pacer Harshal Patel tried his best to defend the visitors’ total on the fourth and final day of the Group A Ranji Trophy cricket match on Sunday. Delhi now have 14 points from three matches and are very much in the race for a place in the knock-outs. Starting on their overnight score of 69 for no loss in pursuit of their victory target of 224, Delhi saw skipper Gautam Gambhir (20) and wicketkeeper-batsman Mohit Ahlawat (0) fall to Harshal’s inswinger’s after being trapped leg before but Unmukt did his best to ensure that the hosts bag 6 points at Feroz Shah Kotla. [caption id=“attachment_2473224” align=“alignright” width=“380”]  Unmukt Chand. BCCI[/caption] Unmukt, who added two half-centuries – 68 in first innings – to his first-class record in this game, stood strong with Nitish Rana (25) to stitch an 81-run partnership, but his wicket saw Delhi wobble again. Rana and Chand’s wickets in a space of 10 deliveries once again gave the Virender Sehwag-led Haryana hopes of an unlikely win. Harshal continued to make inroads with Manan Sharma’s (5) scalp, getting able support from Ashish Hooda (2-46) at the other end. After getting the prized wicket of Unmukt, Hooda got Yogesh Nagar cleaned up for 4 to put Delhi in deep trouble. But Milind Kumar (44 not out) and Pradeep Sangwan (11 not out) stitched a 42-run seventh-wicket partnership to make sure that Delhi survive to get their second outright win in three games so far. In a match of fluctuating fortunes, Haryana were made to look strong on Day 3 after bundling out Delhi for 227 in the first innings and then Sehwag struck a fluent half-century to help the visitors give a competitive target to the hosts. Delhi though again turned things around in the final session on Saturday with Gambhir and Unmukt giving the team a brisk start and raise hopes of an easy victory, which they ultimately did albeit with much difficulty. Young left-arm spinner Manan Sharma made his presence felt for the home team with match figures of 11-162, bagging two five-wicket hauls in both the innings and always kept the Haryana batsmen on tenterhooks on a slow and low pitch. But Sehwag’s breezy 37 and a gutsy 51 in the first and second innings respectively is certainly worth a mention especially when the swashbuckler was playing his first game on his former home turf after switching loyalties this season. Harshal’s inspiring spell of bowling in both the innings and Jayant Yadav’s four scalps in the first innings is also what Haryana will take forward as positives from the game. Brief Scores: Haryana 195 and 265 Delhi 227 and 225/6 in 68 overs (Unmukt Chand 99, Nitin ilind Kumar 44 not out; Harshal Patel 4-76) Points: Delhi 6, Haryana 0. Jharkhand outplay Kerala by 133 runs Malappuram (Kerala): Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem bagged a seven-wicket haul to help Jharkhand outplay Kerala by 133 runs on the fourth and final day of the Group C Ranji Trophy cricket encounter on Sunday. Chasing 317 for a win at the Perintalmanna Cricket Stadium, the Sanju Samson-led Kerala were bundled out for 183 after the host batsmen failed to counter Nadeem’s (7-64) spin. Captain and pace spearhead Varun Aaron, who went wicketless in the second innings, had contributed with a five-wicket haul in the first. Jharkhand opener Ishan Kishan, who top-scored with a valuable 58 in the second innings and the visiting team’s middle-order also contributed to the win. Brief Scores: Jharkhand 202 and 262 Kerala 148 and 183 all out in 63.5 overs (Akshay Kodoth 72; Shahbaz Nadeem 7-64). Points: Jharkhand 6, Kerala 0. Karnataka gain 3 points as match against Vidarbha ends in draw Bengaluru: Karnataka earned three points on he basis of their first-innings lead over Vidarbha even as the match ended in a tame draw after Ravikumar Samarth and Karun Nair scored centuries each for the hosts on the final day of a Group A Ranji Trophy cricket match on Sunday. Having gained a slender 40-run first innings lead, Karnataka scored 331 for three declared in their second essay today before reducing Vidarbha to 17 for no loss at the close of play. Resuming on 93 for one, Samarth (121) and Nair (101 not out) put on an unbeaten 176 runs together for the fourth wicket to take the team past 330-run mark. For Vidarbha, Swapnil Bandiwar bagged two wickets. In Vidarbha’s second innings, Faiz Fazal and Aditya Shanware were batting at six and seven, respectively when both the captains agreed to call off the day’s play. Karnataka now have seven points from three matches and Vidarbha have four points. Karnataka will next take on Haryana in Mysuru, while Vidarbha will face Assam. Brief scores: Karnataka: 350 & 331 for 3 decl (Ravikumar Samarth 121,Karun Nair not out 101; Swapnil Bandiwar 2/50). Vidarbha: 310 & 17 for no loss in 11 overs. Andhra gain three points in a tame draw vs Baroda Vizianagaram: KS Bharat (144), Ricky Bhui (116) and AG Pradeep (100) scored a century each as Andhra took the first innings lead over Baroda and gained three points in their Group B Ranji Trophy cricket match on Sunday. In reply to Baroda’s first innings total of 302, Andhra scored 474 for six declared in their opening essay to take 172-run lead. At the close of play on the fourth and final day, Baroda were 60 for two in their second innings. Earlier in the day, resuming on 328 for three, overnight batsmen – Bhui and Pradeep – completed their centuries, besides putting on 120-run stand for the fourth wicket. Thanks to yesterday’s centurion Bharat, Andhra had already crossed the Baroda’s first innings total. For Baroda, Sagar Mangalorkar (2/97) and Ketan Panchal (2/23) chipped in with two wickets each. Brief scores: Baroda: 302 & 60/2 (Kedar Devdhar 30 not out). Andhra: 474 for six decl (KS Bharat 144, Ricky Bhui 116, AG Pradeep 100; Sagar Mangalorkar 2/97, Ketan Panchal 2/23). Debutant Pankaj shines on final day as Bengal bag 3 points against Rajasthan Kolkata: Skipper Manoj Tiwary continued his good form with an useful contribution of 83 while Pankaj Shaw scored a half-century on debut as Bengal managed to secure three points by virtue of their 84-run first innings lead in their second Ranji Trophy group league encounter against Rajashtan on Sunday. In reply to the visitors first innings total of 198 in a game interrupted by rain during the first two days, Bengal scored 282 in 90.3 overs with Pankaj’s 66-ball-52 laced with three fours and equal number of maximums being the most significant contribution on the final day. Coming in to bat at 172 for five after India international Wriddhiman Saha’s (8) dismissal, 27-year-old Pankaj saw his skipper Tiwary depart for 83 with scorecard reading 190 for six and nine runs still required for the lead. Along with former India U-19 player Aamir Gani (29), he dded 45 runs en route ensuring three points safely. In their second essay, Rajasthan were reduced to 15 for 3 in 6.2 overs with Ashok Dinda’s two and Veer Pratap’s one wicket bursts but skipper Ashok Menaria played sensibly and remained unbeaten on 69 (174 balls; 12x4) to see through the final day and secure a point. Bengal’s main spinner Pragyan Ojha, who claimed an impressive 4/49 in the first innings, returned wicketless from 14 overs on the Eden strip that looked eased out. In absence of all-rounder Laxmi Ratan Shukla who is down with a knee injury, Bengal missed a fifth bowler sorely to play the role of partnership-breaker. The frustration was well evident as the skipper Tiwary bowled nine overs and accounted for Puneet Yadav (33) to break his 95-run fourth wicket partnership with Menaria. Gani claimed another in the fag end of the day but that was too little too late as the two days’ of rain had already come to the rescue of Team Rajasthan who were handed an innings defeat in Assam. Both Bengal and Team Rajasthan now have four points but the former have played one match less in group A. Bengal will now take on a Delhi side which is on a roll after two back to back wins. Brief Scores: Rajasthan 198 & 146/5 in 57 overs (Ashok Menaria 69 not out). Bengal 282 in 90.3 overs (Manoj Tiwary 83, Abhimanyu Easwaran 53, Pankaj Shaw 52; Ajay Singh 3/72, Aniket Choudhary 2/32, Deepak Chahar 2/52). Match drawn. Bengal 3 points, Rajasthan 1. Anureet, Updhayay bundle UP out as Railways win by 282 runs Ghaziabad: New ball bowlers Anureet Singh (5/15) and Krishnakant Upadhyay (4/32) bundled out Uttar Pradesh for paltry 58 runs to pull off a fantastic 282-run victory in a Ranji Trophy group league encounter. Set a victory target of 341 on the final day, UP were looking to for a draw and a point as they were all-out in 42 overs with Himanshu Asnora (19) being only player to reach double digits. Portly IPL sensation Sarfaraz Khan got a taste of top quality seam bowling in longer format as his technique was left thoroughly exposed. Having failed to open his account in the first innings, Sarfaraz was all at sea against moving ball as he played 85 deliveries to score five before offering a catch to Arnab Nandi off Anureet’s bowling. In the morning, Railways started the day at 155 for three and declared at 229 for four. Brief Scores: Railways 375 & 229/4 (Faiz Ahmed 80, Ashish Singh 60) Uttar Pradesh 264 & 58 (Anureet Singh 5/15, Krishnakant Upadhyay 4/32). Points UP 6; Railways 0. Yuvraj, Manan hit centuries as Punjab earn three points Chandigarh: Riding on India discard Yuvraj Singh and Manan Vohra’s centuries, Punjab took a solid first innings lead and earned three points from the drawn encounter against Gujarat in their Ranji Trophy Group B cricket match on Sunday. [caption id=“attachment_1842013” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of Yuvraj Singh. PTI[/caption] In reply to Gujarat’s first innings total of 467, Punjab scored 608 all out with skipper Yuvraj being the top scorer with 187 runs off 233 balls, including 14 boundaries and seven sixes. Despite spinner Rujul Bhatt finishing with impressive figures of eight for 151, Gujarat failed to stop the hosts from taking the upper hand. Resuming on 434 for five, overnight batsman Yuvraj, starting the day on 85, added 102 more runs to his personal score, while his unbeaten partner Siddarth Kaul also chipped in with crucial 43. Yesterday, Vohra had scored 104 off 229 deliveries. Gujarat, in their second innings, reached 135 for four before the stumps were drawn on the fourth and final day with Bhargav Merai (56) scoring a half-century. Brief scores: Gujarat: 467 & 135 for four (Bhargav Merai 56). Punjab: 608 (Manan Vohra 104, Yuvraj Singh 187; Rujul Bhatt 8/151). PTI