R Vinay Kumar (3/32) and HS Sharath (3/12) shared six wickets between them on the fourth and final day to score a historic 160-run win over defending champions Mumbai in their Ranji Trophy Group A match and book a berth in the knockout stage of the tournament.
Having earned six points from this game, Karnataka have now moved to 32 points from seven matches, and are placed at the top of the table.
Karnataka still have one game left in the league stage. They will face a formidable Delhi in their last league match away from home.
Mumbai, with 23 points from seven matches, are at number three position in the table, while Gujarat are at second spot, three points ahead of the defending champions.
Mumbai will have a tough task at hands in their last league encounter when they will take on Gujarat. There is a danger of Punjab shattering Mumbai's dreams of qualifying for the knockout stage because they have as many points as Mumbai and will be taking on an out-of-contention Jharkhand in their final league match.
Karnataka scored 251 in their first innings and in reply Mumbai were all out for 269, taking a vital 18-run lead.
In their second innings, Karnataka made a disastrous start losing two wickets for 32, but Ravikumar Samarth's half century and Manish Pandey's match-winning 119 helped the hosts score 299, hence setting Mumbai a target of 282 runs.
Mumbai were bundled out for a meagre 121 in their second stint to give Karnataka an historic occasion to celebrate.
Never in Ranji history did Karnataka score an outright win over Mumbai.
Karnataka's bowling was led by pacers Vinay Kumar and Sharath, both of whom scalped three wickets each. They well very well supported by India discard Abhimanyu Mithun (2/28) and leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal (2/13).
Vinay Kumar bowled his heart out, troubling the top order Mumbai batsmen with his deadly swingers just outside the off-stump. He had an astonishing first spell, where he claimed two for 10 in seven overs, which drifted the game away from Mumbai.
Mumbai got off to a poor start in their run chase as they lost eight wickets for 100 runs.
Doraiswamy Subramanian (13) and Kaustubh Pawar failed to give Mumbai a good start.
Much was expected from their captain Wasim Jaffer and Aditya Tare, who have been among runs for Mumbai this season, but they also failed to live up to the expectations.
Jaffer (3), especially was a great disappointment, getting out leg before rooted in the crease twice in the match against Sharath in the first innings and Abhimanyu Mithun in the second.
Tare, who also scored just 18 runs in the first innings, was cleaned up for zero by Vinay.
When the right-handed Siddesh Lad joined Hiken Shah, Mumbai were struggling at 50 for four but both put on a fight to take the total to 93, before they were dropped twice during their knocks.
Karnataka, with their attacking field placements and bowling, dealt three blows on the same score, sending back Shah (28), Lad (24) and Suryakumar Yadav (0) back to the pavillion.
Thereafter, the hosts skittled out the visitors by removing Saurabh Netrawalkar (0), Shardul Thakur (10) and Javed Khan (15), cheaply.
Earlier, Karnataka after resumed at an overnight second innings score of 287 for eight, could add just 12 more runs to the total before losing the last two batsmen.
Brief scores:
Karnataka: 251 & 299
Mumbai: 269 & 121 (Hiken Shah 28; R Vinay Kumar 3/32, HS Sharath 3/12).
Gujarat beat Odisha by 166 runs
Motera: Allrounder Akshar Patel shone with both bat and ball as Gujarat bundled out Odisha for a paltry 83 in their second innings to notch up a massive 166-run victory in their Ranji Trophy Group A match.
The 19-year-old top-scored with an unbeaten 54-run innings and then returned with a five-wicket haul as Gujarat grabbed six valuable points to be at the second place, behind Karnataka, in the points table.
Earlier, Rakesh Dhruv completed a six wicket haul by getting rid of overnight batsmen B Mohanty (5) and Dhiraj Singh (0) quickly to dismiss Odisha for 367 in 144.2 overs in their first innings.
Gujarat then came out to bat but the hosts lost their openers -- Parthiv Patel (18) and PK Panchal (5) in 5.2 overs. Akshar then took the onus on himself and stayed till the end with a 48-ball 54-run partnership. His innings was studded with two sixes and a four.
However, Gujarat lost CJ Gandhi (0) for a duck and Govind Podder got rid of JB Karia (18). After that, the hosts suffered two run-out dismissals before declaring at 137-7 in 22 overs.
Needing 250 to win, Odisha started their second innings on a disappointing note as they lost wickets in a heap and half of their side was back in the pavillion for 44.
With the bowlers led by Akshar (5/23) and pacer Jasprit Bumrah (3/26) keeping a tight line, the visitors continued losing wicket and were eventually bowled out in 46.5 overs.
Brief Score:
Gujarat 479/8d & 137/7d in 22 overs (Akshar Patel 54; B Mohanty 1/49)
Odisha: 367 & 83 in 46.5 overs (G B Podder 27; Akshar Patel 5/23).
Jharkhand-Vidarbha match ends in a draw
Jamshedpur: In-form opener Faiz Fazal (91) missed out on his century even as the Ranji Trophy Group A match between Vidarbha and host Jharkhand ended in a draw on the final day at Keenan Stadium.
Vidarbha had scored 218 runs in reply to Jharkhand’s first innings total of 332. Jharkhand made 161 for nine in their second essay.
Chasing 276 to win, Vidarbha ended at 164 for three in 59 overs.
Resuming at an overnight score of 83 for three, Jharkhand batting line up collapsed as pack of card as they lost six wickets for 116 runs in the morning.
Overnight batsman southpaw Saurabh Tiwary (who was 21 at stumps) and skipper Shahbaz Nadeem put up stiff challenge before the Vidarbha bowlers and stitched a valuable 62 runs for the fifth-wicket before Nadeem was bowled by S Ruikar at team score of 146.
Nadeem played a scintillating knock, hitting 40 off 23-delivery with the help of six fours and a six.
Three balls later, Tiwary followed the suit notching up highest 44 runs studded with three boundaries and a six off 68-balls.
Tiwary stepped out for a drive but handed a catch to Ravi Jangid off Akhshay Wakhare.
After Tiwary’s dismissal, Jharkhand lost three quick wickets in the form of Bhavin Thaker (0), Sunny Gupta (3) and S S Rao (0) while Varun Aaron was not out at 8.
For Vidarbha, Shrikant Wagh scalped four wickets for 39 while Ruikar and Wakhare shared two wickets apiece.
Vidarbha got off to a good start as their in-form opener Fazal and Akshay Kolar (23) paired for 55 runs before spinner Samar Quadri, who had bagged six wickets in the first innings, struck the first blow having Kolar caught by Aaron.
Jangid stepped in to join Fazal, who exhibited excellent shots all around the ground, and they together stitched 53-run second wicket partnership. Quadri struck for the second time having Jangid leg before for 15.
Fazal, who was settled at the other end, amassed 91 with the help of 13 fours before he was bowled by speedster Aaron. S Shrivastav was on 8 and R R Parida was on six when the match ended.
Jharkhand earned three points by virtue of first innings lead.
Bhatia’s ton goes in vain as Punjab beat Delhi by 98 runs
New Delhi: Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag couldn't stand up and be counted when it mattered the most as Punjab recorded one of the most inspiring victories in recent times beating Delhi by 98 runs in a Ranji Trophy group game to keep their quarter-final hopes alive.
Chasing a target of 327, Delhi were all out for 228 on the final day with Rajat Bhatia scoring a gutsy hundred on a difficult track.
Punjab will take a lot of positives from this game as despite being shot out for 74 in the first innings, they came back to win the match. Punjab now have 23 points from seven games and will be aiming for six points as they try to get a last-eight berth.
For Delhi, it's almost end of the road as they are at fifth place with 19 points and even an outright win with bonus points against Karnataka won't ensure a knock-out berth.
Delhi began the day at 60 for three and Gambhir (30) poked at an away going delivery from Manpreet Gony to Gurkeerat Singh in the slip-cordon.
Virender Sehwag (12) played a nice drive off Gony and also fended a short ball that sailed over slips for another four. But he again disappointed trying to hit Jaskaran Singh over mid-on. However, trying to check his shot, the ball just lobbed towards mid-on for a simple catch.
With Gambhir and Sehwag out in the first session, Delhi were reduced to 82 for five. But nightwatchman Ashish Nehra (16, 128 balls) showed a lot of character as he was involved in a 82-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Bhatia.
Bhatia, who hit his 14th first-class hundred, faced 182 balls laced with 16 fours in the process.
Once off-spinner Gurkeerat Singh removed Nehra and wicketkeeper-batsman Rahul Yadav (0) off successive deliveries, victory was just a matter of time. It was Bhatia, who was the last man to be dismissed when he edged a Gony delivery to wicketkeeper Gitansh Khera.
Brief Scores:
Punjab: 74 & 402
Delhi: 150 & 228 (Rajat Bhatia 100, Virender Sehwag 12, Gautam Gambhir 30, Yuvraj Singh 3/45, MS Gony 3/51).
UP earn 3 points in drawn game against MP
Kanpur: Uttar Pradesh walked away with three points owing to their first innings lead in a Group B Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh that ended in a draw on the fourth and final day.
Chasing a victory target of 314 runs, Madhya Pradesh were 140 for seven in their second innings at the close of play with Salman Baig (31 not out) and Anurag Singh (11 not out) in the middle.
Resuming at 78 for three, Uttar Pradesh had declared their second innings at 178 for five with India international Suresh Raina hitting a classy 134-ball 84, laced with 11 fours, while 'old war horse' Mohammad Kaif just felling one run short of his half-century at 49.
For Madhya Pradesh, medium pacers Ishwar Pandey and Puneet Datey acoounted for two wickets each.
In their second essay, Madhya Pradesh got off to a poor start in their run-chase as they kept on losing wickets at regular intervals.
Leg-spinner Amit Mishra and medium pacer Ankit Rajpoot sent back both the openers Zafar Ali (12) and Jalaj Saxena (20) inside the 11th over with scoreboard at 36. Imtiaz Ahmed soon made it 36 for three when he had wicketkeeper Naman Ojha (3) trapped leg before.
Mohnish Mishra (18), skipper Devendra Bundela (11), Anand Bais (16) and Shubham Sharma (5) all found the going tough against the pace-spin duo of Mishra and Imtiaz as they were left reeling at 106 for seven.
Madhya Pradesh stared at a humiliating defeat but Baig and Singh waged a grim battle to rescue the side from a precarious situation.
For Uttar Pradesh, Mishra was the most successful bowler with figures of three for 17 while Imtiaz picked up two wickets.
Brief scores:
Uttar Pradesh 250 & 178/5 decl (Suresh Raina 84, Mohammad Kaif 49; Ishwar Pandey 2/32).
Madhya Pradesh: 115 & 140/7 in 64 overs (Salman Baig 31 not out; Amit Mishra 3/17).
Yusuf leads Baroda to victory against Saurashtra
Rajkot: A brilliant bowling performance by Baroda skipper Yusuf Pathan (6 for 40) helped his side thrash Saurashtra by 239 runs on the fourth and final day of their Ranji Trophy Group B match.
Chasing a target of 355, Saurashtra were bundled out for a meagre 115 in 79.3 overs at the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) stadium, Khandheri.
Yusuf led from the front with figures of six for 40. Baroda earned six points from today's win and kept their hopes of entering the knockout stage alive.
Saurashtra openers Chirag Pathak and Bhushan Chauhan started cautiously in their chase, adding 46 runs in 25 overs. But Pathan wreaked havoc to take the match away from the opponents.
Only Chirag Pathak (36), Sheldon Jackson (19) and Kamlesh Makwana (11 not out) could reach double digit mark, while Sagar Jogiyani, Chirag Jani and Vishal Joshi failed to open their account.
Pathan got a good support from Bhargav Bhatt (3/08).
Earlier, resuming at 207 for six, Baroda added another 58 runs off just 8.4 overs before declaring their second innings at 161 for nine.
Baroda made 400 in their first innings and then took a crucial 89-run first innings lead over Saurashtra by dismissing the hosts for 311.
Overnight batsman Utkarsh Patel made 53 off 79 balls with nine fours. He added 82 runs for the seventh wicket with Pinal Shah (43).
Jaydev Unadkat was the most successful bowler for Saurashtra, taking four for 61, while left arm leg spinner Dharmendra Jadeja and off spinner Vishal Joshi took two wickets each giving away 127 and 46 runs, respectively.
Brief Scores:
Baroda: 400 & 265 for 9 decl (Saurabh Wakaskar 69, Utkarsh Patel 53, Jaydev Unadkat 4/60, Vishal Joshi 2/46).
Saurashtra: 311 & 115 (Chirag Pathak 36; Yusuf Pathan 6/40, Bhargav Bhatt 3/08).
Rajasthan take 1st innings lead against TN
Chennai: As expected, Rajasthan easily took the first innings lead against Tamil Nadu as their Ranji Trophy Group B match ended in a tame draw.
Overnight Rajasthan batsmen Hirishikesh Kanitkar (52) and Rajesh Bishnoi (68) completed their half-centuries as the visitors scored 438 before being all out in reply to Tamil Nadu score of 318.
The hosts had made 76 for no loss in their second essay when stumps were drawn for the final time in the match.
After getting just one point from this match Tamil Nadu are now in a precarious position. They now have to win their next match against Bengal at home to progress to quarter-final stage.
With the top three teams to make the next grade, Railways are sitting pretty with 27, followed by UP (23), Baroda (20) and Tamil Nadu and Bengal on 18 each.
Tamil Nadu performance in the whole season has been below their par as they have won just one match from seven (drawing the remaining six).
Tamil Nadu spinners miserably failed against Rajasthan. In fact, the pitch was tailor made for the hosts three specialist spinners in Rahil Shah, Malolan Rangarajan and Auhshik Srinivas but they failed to trap the batsmen to play strokes and the drives.
In contrast, Rajasthan captain Kanitkar handled both his bowlers and batsmen well. The approach of openers – Siddarth Sharaf and Vineet Saxena was flawless and then Ashok Maneria carried on from a good start before Kanitkar and
Rajesh Bishnoi consolidated their innings to achieve the vital first innings lead this morning.
Image: Vinay Kumar
Photograph: Pal Pillai/Getty Images
