Welcome to Sportstar 's live coverage of the fourth day of the first round of the 2021-22 season of the Ranji Trophy.
A good fightback from Saurashtra today to hold Mumbai to a draw, despite Shams Mulani's seven-wicket haul. The highlight was Cheteshwar Pujara's 91 - he played an uncharacteristically belligerent knock, a day after being dropped from the India Test squad for the series against Sri Lanka.
Another highlight of the day was Bengal's turnaround at Cuttack. Shahbaz Ahmed and Abhishek Porel steered their side to a four-wicket win as it chased down the target of 349. Baroda wouldn't have anticipated this result after having taken a first-innings lead of 93.
MP similarly registered a come-from-behind win at Rajkot, Shubham Sharma scoring a century and picking up two wickets as Gujarat failed to chase down 195. There were wins also for J&K, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Hyderabad, and Nagaland.
And in Guwahati, Delhi's openers had fun. Debutant Yash Dhull scored his century of the match. Dhruv Shorey scored a ton, too. The match ended in a draw, TN grabbing three points thanks to a first-innings lead.
That's it, for this round of the Ranji Trophy. Join us, for the second round, on February 24, at 9am. Until then, it's goodbye.
UPDATES
Karnataka v Railways | Railways holds on as well. Denies Karnataka a win. Second-innings score: 69 for 4. Three points for Karnataka for a first-innings lead.
Saurashtra v Mumbai | It's a draw. Here's Ayan : DRAW! Sakariya and Unadkat have done it. They've denied Mumbai an outright win. Mumbai takes three points, Saurashtra one. What a game.
Karnataka v Railways | The third-wicket pair of Mohammed Saif and Vivek Singh have added 40 runs. This game is likely headed towards a draw as well.
Saurashtra v Mumbai | Here's Ayan Acharya : This is superb from Unadkat, Sakariya. Unadkat has tried to farm strike but has trusted Sakariya to hold his own against spinners. Sakariya has responded with a rock-solid defence. Getting right forward, to the pitch of ball to block. Balanced backfoot game too.
Saurashtra v Mumbai | Mumbai is finding it harder to dislodge the 10-wicket pair. Here's Ayan, once again : Oh dear! Mulani induces a top edge and the ball pops up, Dhawal Kulkarni, Mohit Avasthi and the bowler all converge on the ball, no one goes for the catch! Was the bowler's catch I felt. Sakariya and Unadkat showing some rearguard resistance.
Saurashtra v Mumbai | 350 up for Saurashtra. Nine wickets have fallen. Jaydev Unadkat has hit four boundaries so far in his innings and is trying to stall Mumbai's victory bid.
Karnataka v Railways | Here's S. Dipak Ragav, with the latest from Chennai : Karnataka turning on the heat. Three wickets since tea. Railways in all sorts of trouble. 26 for 3. Vyshak has two. Gowtham one. Game on. Wonder why Karnataka didn't give themselves more overs. 26 overs left.
Saurashtra v Mumbai | And one more. Here's Ayan : WICKET No. 7 for Mulani. Mumbai have turned this game on its head in the matter of one session.
Saurashtra v Mumbai | Left-arm spinner Shams Mulani has taken six. Here's Ayan Acharya : Mulani has run through the lower middle-order here. With Raut knocking over Jackson's stumps courtesy a peach, Mumbai eyeing an outright win in Ahmedabad.
Saurashtra v Mumbai | Saurashtra has taken the lead, meaning Mumbai will have to bat again for an outright win. Sheldon Jackson is batting alongside Jaydev Unadkat. Prerak Mankad scored 27.
Gujarat v MP | All over. Gujarat has been bowled out for 88, in the second innings. No. 11 S. Desai's was the last wicket to fall; he tried a slog sweep off Kartikeya, edged the ball, and the ball ballooned up. Rajat Patidar travelled up to the slip region to take a simple catch. A hundred-and-six-run win.
Bengal v Baroda | Bengal wins! Shahbaz Ahmed stays unbeaten on 71, while Abhishek Porel scores an unbeaten 53. Theirs is an unbeaten partnership of 108 runs.
Gujarat v MP | Gujarat's innings stagnates further. Shubham Sharma is making an impact now with his part-time off-spin. He dismisses Rujul Bhatt lbw, and soon after, Roosh Kalaria perishes trying to hit off-drive. He is caught by the fielder at cover. Gujarat 7 down for 76.
Gujarat v MP | A huge shout for caught behind. Not given. The batter had closed the face of the bat as he tried to nudge the ball down the leg side. Replays suggest the ball touched the bat and travelled to the wicketkeeper. Neither the bowler nor the wicketkeeper can believe that it hasn't been given.
The partnership between Rujul Bhatt and Karan Patel is blossoming.
Delhi v TN | Dhruv Shorey and Yash Dhull both score centuries. This is Dhull's second century in this match. What a game for him. Delhi 228 for 0, leads by 186. And Delhi declares. The match is drawn ; TN gets three points for a first-innings lead.
Saurashtra v Mumbai | There will be no century for Pujara. Here's Ayan Acharya, with the latest from Ahmedabad : Pujara departs for 91 off 82! He's out lbw, not offering a shot. What an innings. Out for duck, dropped from Test side yesterday and responds with a 82-ball 91, 16 fours and a six. Mulani was the bowler.
Bengal v Baroda | Bengal needs just 28 more runs to win. Abhishek Porel needs nine more runs to get to his half-century. The partnership is worth 81 now.
Delhi v TN | Delhi's openers are both close to their personal milestones. Shorey needs three more runs to get to his century, while Dhull needs nine more for his own century. A reminder: Dhull scored a century in the first innings. It is already a first-class debut to savour for the 19-year-old.
Saurashtra v Mumbai | Pujara is uncharacteristically scoring rapidly. 250 up for Saurashtra in the second innings; it needs 68 more runs to make Mumbai bat again. Here's Ayan Acharya :Pujara has just clobbered a pull for six. Tanush Kotian feeling the heat in the middle. A world class player of spin bowling is in the mood to target him today.
Bengal v Baroda | It's a half-century for Shahbaz Ahmed. Valuable knock from him as Bengal inches closer to its target of 349. Forty two more runs to get. Abhishek Porel needs 17 more runs to get to his own fifty.
Gujarat v MP | And one more! Gourav Yadav is introduced, and he gets the breakthrough off the first delivery of his spell. It's a leg-stump half-volley; Het Patel turns his bat too quickly to flick, the ball touches the outside of the bat and the bowler takes an easy catch. Gujarat five down for 33.
Saurashtra v Mumbai | It's a half-century for Pujara! And a rapid one, too. He's hit nine boundaries in his innings so far. He's batting on 51 (57b).
Here's Ayan Acharya : There's nothing stopping Pujara from stepping out, for the moment. Mumbai have a short leg, silly mid on, ball's turning but Pujara dances down the track and casually lofts the spinner to the long on fence.
Bengal v Baroda | Just 50 runs left to win for Bengal. Shahbaz Ahmed is four runs away from his half-century. And giving him good support is Abhishek Porel, who is batting on 27. Porel has hit four boundaries in his 34-ball knock.
Gujarat v MP | Juneja out! Drives the ball straight to the fielder at extra cover. It was a good length delivery from Ishwar Pandey, on off-stump, and Juneja couldn't keep it down, trying to manufacture a stroke off the back-foot. Gujarat 33 for 4, 162 more to win.
Saurashtra v Mumbai | Pujara is attempting to score quickly. Here's Ayan Acharya : Pujara making his intentions clear as soon as he comes back from lunch. Steps out to Tanush Kotian and drives him uppishly over mid on for four. The previous ball, a routine delivery kicked up from a spot outside off, struck Pujara's bat and lobbed up towards empty short leg area.
Gujarat v MP | Runs galore for Gujarat after lunch, as Manprit Juneja and Het Patel are alert to put away loose deliveries. They've hit four boundaries between them - one was a streaky one, off the edge of Manprit's bat, which flew through the gully region.
Delhi v TN | In Guwahati, Delhi is putting up a fight, in the second innings. The openers have added 132 runs, Yash Dhull and Dhruv Shorey both hitting half-centuries. They have hit 17 boundaries between them.
Bengal v Baroda | Manoj Tiwary has been dismissed. It's another big blow for Bengal. The score: 252 for 6 in the 71st over. Another 97 runs needed.
Gujarat v MP | Two more down. Gujarat struggling. Ishwar Pandey prises out Kathan Patel, who tries to drive but can only chip the ball back to the bowler. Soon after, Kartikeya strikes again, and again, it's the arm ball that does the trick. Bhargav Merai comes forward to defend a good length delivery, and the ball goes with the angle, thudding into the pads. Given out.
Karnataka v Railways | It's lunch, at the Guru Nanak College ground in Chennai. Here's our correspondent S. Dipak Ragav with the update : A bland session of cricket with no chance of a result. Karnataka having some good batting practice. 144 for 2 at lunch. Lead by 199. Samarth batting on 70.
Gujarat v MP | MP draws first blood. Priyank Panchal is gone. He attempts to play the cut shot to left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya Singh, and drags the ball on to the stumps. Big wicket. Gujarat 13 for 1.
Andhra v Rajasthan | Rajasthan beats Andhra. Here's M. R. Praveen Chandran, our reporter, with the update from Trivandrum : Rajasthan wins by 158 runs. Shubham Singh twin strikes in his 12th over fast-tracked the win. Tapaswini was bowled trying the reverse sweep and Kothari third catch at short leg to end Vijay's tenure. Tanveer Haq had Stephen caught in the slips to complete the win.
Saurashtra v Mumbai | Pujara is off and running. Here's Ayan Acharya with the update : The field for Cheteshwar Pujara against left-arm spin. Rahane, Shaw had a mini conference before agreeing to that field. Meanwhile, Pujara sweeps the first two balls behind square for four.
Saurashtra v Mumbai | Quick wickets have changed the scenario. Harvik Desai was dismissed by Shams Mulani for 63, and soon after, Snell Patel was dismissed, too, caught by Shams Mulani off Dhawal Kulkarni for 98. Pujara is out to bat.
Gujarat v MP | It's all over. S. Desai gets Gourav Yadav (0, 14b) with an arm ball. It's full, pitches on middle, and continues on with the angle, thudding into the pads. Was the last ball of the over, and strike had been given to him just so that he would play out this delivery and Shubham could take strike in the next over. Not to be. Gujarat needs 195 to win.
Andhra v Rajasthan | Here's M. R. Praveen Chandran, with an update from Trivandrum : Andhra scoring at a fast clip. The seventh wicket pair added 67 runs before Manish (29) is caught at short leg by Kothari off Shubham Sharma. Andhra 187 for 7 as Rajasthan inches closer to victory.
Gujarat v MP | Shubham Sharma gets a half-volley on leg-stump from the left-arm spinner and he tees off. It's six down the ground, and brings up his century. Takes off his helmet and points his bat to the dressing room. Chandrakant Pandit and the rest are clapping for him. Excellent innings. But will it be enough for MP? The lead: 193.
J&K v Puducherry | It's a win for J&K, at the SSN College ground in Chennai. J&K lost two wickets in the pursuit of 45 in the second innings.
Andhra v Rajasthan | Here's M. R. Praveen Chandran with the latest from St. Xavier's College ground in Trivandrum : Rajasthan has made inroads in the morning session. Both overnight batters Ricky Bhui (39) and Yarra Sandeep (43) are back in the pavilion. Aniket Choudhary drew the first blood having Ricky caught in the slips. Sandeep was dismissed soon. Tapaswi and Manish battling it out and have struck some streaky boundaries Andhra 157 for 6.
Gujarat v MP | Drinks. Shubham Sharma is hitting out and enjoying himself in the middle. Twice, he was nearly caught out - both those strokes were aggressive ones, meant for boundaries. Both times, the ball just about managed to land, evading the diving fielder. A couple of boundaries - a pull stroke off Arzan Nagwaswalla, and a slog-sweep off leg-spinner S. Desai - got MP valuable runs and brought him closer to a century. There were four byes off Desai, too, after wicketkeeper Het Patel failed to stop the ball which landed outside the leg-stump and went on straight. 241 for 9. Lead: 184.
Bengal v Baroda | Here's our correspondent Y. B. Sarangi, who is at the Barabati stadium in Cuttack, with the summary of the day's play so far : Bengal was in a spot of bother as it lost three wickets by the first drinks break on the final day of its contest against Baroda. Overnight batsman and captain Abhimanyu Easwaran was caught in the slips in the first over bowled by Dhruv Patel.Two experienced players Anustup Majumdar, overnight 22, and Sudip Chatterjee tried to steady the chase of 349 but Abhimanyu Singh provided a double jolt in his first over of the day by removing both. Anustup made 33, Sudip contributed 18. Bengal was at 190 for 5 needing 157 more to win.
HP v Punjab | At the Arun Jaitley stadium in New Delhi, Himachal Pradesh is into the lead now. But it has only four wickets in hand. Akash Vashisht is batting on 57 with P. M. Thakur.
Gujarat v MP | Gaja has two more. He's wiping out the tail. Ishwar Pandey and Kuldeep Sen were both dismissed bowled. The ball came in a bit after pitching, on both those deliveries. MP 221 for 9. The lead: 164.
Bengal v Baroda | Two huge wickets for Baroda. Sudip Chatterjee and Anustup Majumdar are both dismissed. Sudip was out for 18 by Abhimanyu Singh, while Majumdar was out for 33, dismissed by the same bowler in the same over. Veteran Manoj Tiwary has the responsibility on his shoulders now. Not much batting to follow. 165 more needed.
Delhi v TN | Delhi has erased the deficit. Openers Yash Dhull and Dhruv Shorey have compiled 50 runs. The lead: 8.
Gujarat v MP | Mihir Hirwani is out for 1. Caught behind. MP seven down now. Hirwani got a delivery that kept low; he tried to play an uncertain stroke, and got a thick edge. The ball flew to the right of wicketkeeper Het Patel, who dived to pouch the offering.
Saurashtra v MP | Saurashtra's openers are solid in the first half hour of the day's play. Thirty two runs have already been added. Here's our correspondent Ayan Acharya : Sarfaraz Khan on a roll this morning: "Bahu saras, DK da. Kya bowling DK da, Khub saaru DK da, out che out che." Manages to get a smile out of Rahane. Meanwhile, Snell is driving the ball like a dream. Avasthi at the receiving end for now.
Gujarat v MP | Chintan Gaja has a wicket now. He bowls a short-of-a-length delivery to Kumar Kartikeya; the ball came in sharply after pitching. Kartikeya couldn't help but edge it behind. A bit of a send-off too, from Gaja. MP six down for 215.
J&K v Puducherry | Puducherry has been bowled out in the second innings for 124. That's a lead of 41 runs. J&K needs to score 42 runs in the second innings to win.
Gujarat v MP | Yash Dubey drives, the ball catches the outside edge of his bat, and this time, there's no mistake in the slips. Kalaria gets his wicket. Dubey departs for 20. MP five down for 208, lead 151.
Gujarat v MP | DROPPED! It's short of a good length, from Roosh Kalaria. Shubham Sharma, batting on 70, cuts the ball; it flies to first slip, who drops it. The ball bursts through his hands as he shapes up to catch the ball over his shoulder. He can't catch it on the rebound either.
Bengal v Baroda | Day four has begun at the Barabati stadium in Cuttack. Abhimanyu Easwaran couldn't add to his overnight score of 79; he was dismissed by Dhruv Patel. Bengal is three wickets down now, with Anustup Majumdar and Sudip Chatterjee in the middle.
Gujarat v MP | Rajat Patidar tells broadcasters he had been looking to play with a straight bat to minimise the chances of edges on this track. He's scored at a quick rate in the second innings because his team needs enough time to enforce a win. Gujarat, of course, has the first-innings lead and so will gain three points in case the match ends in a draw.
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After a disappointing day - he was out for a duck and not selected for the Test series against Sri Lanka - Cheteshwar Pujara has another chance to get some runs under his belt. And if it prevents a defeat for his side, it will be even sweeter. Saurashtra needs to bat the entire day to escape with a draw. The openers have given the team a good start, but it's still an uphill task.
HIGHLIGHTS - Ranji Trophy, Round 1, Day 3
Bengal, too, has an uphill task ahead but a victory is still possible. Abhimanyu Easwaran, batting on 79, will hope to continue on for a long innings.
And in Guwahati, Tamil Nadu already has the upper hand over Delhi, as it has the first-innings lead. The match will likely end in a draw.
A reminder: 16 matches will be held today across India. Three matches are already over: Chhattisgarh, Manipur and Kerala won their respective matches.
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