Ranji Trophy HIGHLIGHTS, Quarterfinal Day 5: Vidarbha, Mumbai qualify for semifinal; to face Madhya Pradesh, Tamil nadu

And that will be it from our side. But we will be back with blogs and reports for the semifinal, scheduled to start on March 2. 

Semifinal schedule: Tamil Nadu vs Mumbai / Madhya Pradesh vs Vidarbha

DONE AND DUSTED! The players decide to shake hands as the match is deemed as a draw and Mumbai qualifies for the semis. It will face Madhya Pradesh in the semifinal

Vishnu Solanki is the new batter in after Kotian castled the stumps through Moliya’s front footed defense. It’s just a matter of time before the players decide to shake hands as Baroda still needs 490 runs to win with just over one session remaining

Shashwat (20*) and Moliya (23*) have steadied the ship for Baroda, which is currently at 68/1 vs Mumbai. However, with 538 runs more needed to secure a win, the chances of Mumbai qualifying for the semifinal looks set in stone

AND THAT WILL BE IT! VIDARBHA BOWLS KARNATAKA OUT FOR 243 AND IS THROUGH TO THE SEMIFINAL! Dubey gives the breakthrough yet again as Kaverappa is caught at short mid wicket by Sarvate! 

The Akshay Wadkar-led side will face Madhya Pradesh in the semifinal

Mohit has the last laugh after conceding 10 runs as Jyotsnil (24) is caught at second slip by Shams Mulani. Baroda 30/1 

Harsh Dubey provides the breakthrough for Vidarbha! He cleans up Vyshak, who tried to go big on the onside. Karnataka nine down for 222. V Koushik is the final batter in 

Jyotsnil, after checking his shot for the first two deliveries, gets a double and follows it up with a four through the covers. Baroda 12/0 

Huge shout off Sarvate’s first delivery post lunch as he traps Kaverappa leg before. But the umpire is unmoved. Looks like the ball pitched outside leg. Vidarbha needs just two wickets more for a win

Meanwhile, Baroda has started its 606-run chase with Jyotsnil and Moliya at the crease. Mohit Avasti opens with the ball

Finally, the partnership is broken as Deshpande departs for a well-stiched 123 off Rathwa’s delivery. Deshpande and Kotian have almost sealed the semifinal qualification with a record-breaking 11th wicket partnership! 

Mumbai - 569 all out, leads by 605 runs

Karnataka slips further as it loses its eighth wicket. Harsh Dubey rattles the stumps of S Sharath (6). Vidarbha now needs just two wickets to qualify for the semifinal

Tanush Kotian smashes his maiden first-class century! What a resilient knock this has been from the lower order batter alongside Tushar Deshpande, who himself is two runs away from a ton! 

Deshpande follows suit with a ton of his own. He achieves the feat with a four off Mahesh Pithiya’s delivery. 

Kotian, Deshpande register second-highest 10th wicket partnership in Ranji Trophy history

The Mumbai pair of Tanush Kotian and Tushar Deshpande rewrote the record books when they achieved the feat of highest 10th wicket stand in the history of Ranji Trophy.

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Sarvate is running through the Karnataka top order. This time it’s Manish Pandey who perishes as he is caught leg before trying to defend a full ball on the front foot! 

Mayank Agarwal perishes in an attempt to go big! He comes down the track in an attempt to clear the inner circle but gets caught at mid on by Harsh Dube. Agarwal departs for a well made 70

Make that two in an over for Sarvate as Nikin Jose walks back without disturbing the scorers! A double wicket maiden from Sarvate to dent Karnataka’s chase

Baroda will need a miracle from here as the highest successful fourth innings chase is Railways’ 378/5 against Tripura last season. Mumbai’s lead currently is 467

Here are the top five highest 4th innings chases: 

378/5 Railways vs Tripura - 2023/24 

372/4 Saurashtra vs Uttar Pradesh - 2019

371/4 Assam vs Services - 2008/09

360/4 Rajasthan vs Vidarbha - 1989/90

359/4 Uttar Pradesh vs Maharashtra - 2021/22

Kotian gets a reprieve. Meriwala, from over the stumps, teased Kotian with a short of a length delivery which induced an outside edge and the ball flew just past a diving Mitesh Patel behind the stumps. 

Kotian adds insult to the injury as he smacks two fours off consecutive deliveries. The first one came with a cut through the point region while the second was with a superb pull shot. Mumbai cruising at the moment

Meanwhile, Tushar Deshpande has just smashed 11 runs off Meriwala’s over. An onslaught which included two fours. Mumbai is currently 390/9 and leads by 426 runs

Aneesh (1*) and Mayank Agarwal (61*) are at the crease for Karnataka, which still needs 268 runs to win against Vidarbha. Yash Thakur opens the bowling 

Hanuma Vihari has decided that he will never play for Andhra - a team where he lost his self respect. Shortly after losing to Madhya Pradesh in the quarterfinal of the Ranji Trophy on Monday, the seasoned Vihari wrote on his social media handles that he’s moving on from Andhra due to humiliation.

Despite being named the captain for the season, Vihari relinquished the captaincy ahead of Andhra’s second game against Mumbai in January. 

Read the full story by our correspondent Shayan Acharya:

Ranji Trophy 2023-2024: Hanuma Vihari to not play for Andhra, former skipper slams ACA after suffering ‘humiliation’

Despite being named the captain for the season, Vihari relinquished the captaincy ahead of Andhra’s second game against Mumbai in January.

Tamil Nadu has steamrolled opposition on its way to the semifinals with five outright wins and a large part of that has been down to the efforts of left-arm spinners R. Sai Kishore (47 wickets) and S. Ajith Ram (41), who are ranked top two on the wicket charts this season (Elite group) so far.

However, one person who has flown under the radar has been pace spearhead Sandeep Warrier. The 32-year-old’s 23 scalps have played a key role in TN bowling out all its opponents twice this season. 

Read the full story by our correspondent Dipak Raghav: 

Ranji Trophy 2023-24: Flying under the radar, Sandeep Warrier has been pivotal in Tamil Nadu’s dominance

Sandeep Warrier’s 23 scalps have played a key role in TN bowling out all its opponents twice this season.

The start of day’s play is scheduled at 9:30am IST for both the matches. While the Karnataka vs Vidarbha match will have a definite result, the Mumbai vs Baroda match might not have one. However, with a first innings lead of over 400 runs, it is more likely that Mumbai will make it to the semis

From being down and out, Karnataka clawed back into contention against Vidarbha in its Ranji Trophy quarterfinal here on Monday.

An inspired performance from fast bowlers Vidwath Kaverappa (6/61) and V. Vyshak (4/81) lifted Karnataka from gloom to hope. The pacers bowled with heart and fire to dismiss Vidarbha for 196 in the second essay, leaving Karnataka with a 371-run target.

A combination of domination and grit has been a hallmark of Mumbai’s batting legacy. Both the aspects were on display in plenty all through Day Four of its Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Baroda.

Thanks to a near-clinical batting display – dominated by Prithvi Shaw’s (87, 93b, 10x4, 2x6) aggression and Hardik Tamore’s perfect anchor (114, 233b, 10x4) en route a second First Class hundred and a stubborn resistance by the lower order, especially allrounders Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian – meant Mumbai ended the penultimate day’s play at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Indoor Academy at 379 for nine in its second essay.

Both the matches happening today will be streamed live on the JioCinema app/website: 

Karnataka vs Vidarbha

Mumbai vs Baroda