Ranji: Gujarat seal quarters spot, Andhra beat Rajasthan

Gujarat seal quarters spot with nine-wicket win over HP

Strong fifties from Aarya Desai and Jaymeet Patel along with a disciplined bowling performance led by spinner Siddharth Desai powered Gujarat to a dominant nine-wicket victory over Himachal Pradesh in their final Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match in Ahmedabad on Saturday, securing their place in the quarterfinals.

Desai claimed four wickets, while his spin colleague Vishal Jayswal took three and Jaymeet added two with his left-arm medium pace, as Gujarat dismissed HP for 175 in 62.5 overs after beginning the third day at 63 for 2.

Prashant Chopra was the only batter to offer resistance with a 151-ball 61, but none of the others could withstand the spin attack, leaving Gujarat to make 144 for a win.

After losing opener Urvil Patel (25) early, Aarya and Jaymeet formed an unbeaten 114-run stand, going on a boundary spree to take Gujarat home in 22.3 overs.

Aarya smashed five boundaries and six sixes in his 57-ball 59, while Jaymeet hit six fours in his 68-ball 51.

The two teams were competing for the second quarterfinal spot in the group but the results meant Gujarat ended the group stage with 31 points, behind Vidarbha (34) in the points table to qualify for the knockout stage, while HP finished third with 21 points.

Andhra beat Rajasthan by six wickets

In Vizianagaram, Tripurana Vijay and Ricky Bhui starred as Andhra defeated Rajasthan by six wickets on the third day of their Ranji Trophy match.

Resuming at 95 for 7, Rajasthan could add just 19 runs to their second innings as Vijay ran through the tail, claiming five wickets and leaving Andhra a target of 152.

Bhui then smashed 62 off 76 balls, laced with two sixes and seven fours, while KS Bharat hit a 59-ball 43 and Kirdant Karan Shinde contributed with a 32-ball 35, helping Andhra chase down the target in 31 overs, finishing at 157 for 4.

The win, their only one this season, gave Andhra a sixth-place finish with 13 points, while Rajasthan ended their campaign in fourth with 16 points.

Brief Scores:
In Ahmedabad: Himachal Pradesh 215 & 175 all out in 62.5 overs (Prashant Chopra 61; Siddharth Desai 4/44, Vishal Jayswal 3/56) lost to Gujarat 247 & 145 for 1 in 22.3 overs (Jaymeet Patel 51 not out, Aarya Desai 69 not out; Ankush Bedi 1/46) by nine wickets.

In Vizianagaram: Rajasthan 258 & 114 all out in 39.4 overs (Abhijeet Tomar 31; Tripurana Vijay 5/22, Prithvi Raj Yarra 4/47) lost to Andhra 220 and 157 for 4 in 31 overs (Ricky Bhui, S Bharat 43; Khaleel Ahmed 2/45) by six wickets.