Ranji Trophy Quarterfinals Highlights Day 4: Punjab needs 200 to win vs Saurashtra; MP, Karnataka, Bengal through to semis

Siddharth Kaul sees five five deliveries with Pukhraj Mann unbeaten on 17 at the other end. An intriguing final day awaits both teams with Punjab needing 200 to win, Saurashtra eight wickets and just one spot left in the semis. Bengal and Madhya Pradesh have already booked their semifinals clash and the winner of this game will take on Karnataka.

Parth Bhut strikes, Prabhsimran Singh walks back. The left-arm spinner darted in an arm ball and the batter went on the backfoot to defend and missed it to be trapped LBW. Siddharth Kaul comes in as night-watchman.

Pukhraj Mann finally breaks the shackles with a boundary off Yuvraj Dodiya. He steps out and lofts the ball inside out to the cover boundary. Fifty up for Punjab in 21 overs.

Punjab batters taking their time as they face 32 consecutive dot balls. Two vociferous appeals from Dharmendrasinh Jadeja for caught behind but the umpire doesn’t budge.

Still too early to call the winner. Safe to say, both teams will be happy at the moment. Naman Dhir tried to manufacture room outside off and looked to loft the ball over covers inside out and got an outside edge to the slip fielder off Parth Bhut. Pukraj Mann and Prabhsimran have been solid since, adding 23.

Some consolation for Andhra’s Yarra Prithvi Raj, who is adjudged the Player of the Match for his seven wickets in the match. He claimed five for 26 in the first innings and two for 50 in the second.

Saransh Jain dabbed the first ball of the over from Lalith Mohan to the third man boundary. With three needed, Jain and Gawli then resorted to the singles to seal the deal. The defending champion is through the semifinals, to be played from February 8.

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A delectable push through covers from Gawli off Prithvi Raj runs away to the boundary. He then flicks one off the backfoot to the fine-leg boundary. Eight runs from the over.

Gawli and Jain continue to accumulate runs with the singles as MP inches closer to a spot in the semis. Every run now being cheered in the MP dugout.

A boundary from the over for Parth Bhut as Prithvi Raj continues with his short-ball ploy.

Prabhsimran Singh and Naman Dhir start off the tricky run-chase on a positive note. Dharmendrasinh Jadeja and Parth Bhut operate with the new ball.

This over from Lalith Mohan will calm the nerves in the MP dugout. Four singles as the batters want to take their time to get to the target.

Another maiden after Tea. Prithvi Raj unleashes a barrage of bouncers to Gawli. Huge celebrations break out after the last ball as Prithvi Raj thinks the batter has edged a length ball outside off to the keeper, but the umpire is not impressed. MP under pressure.

Lalith Mohan bowls a tight over after Tea. A maiden, and more importantly, asks several questions to Saransh Jain. An eager LBW appeal off the last ball to end the over. A couple of quick wickets here and game on!

Saurashtra rode on Prerak Mankad’s gritty 88 and Parth Bhut’s 51 to reach 379 in the second innings and set a 252-run target for Punjab on Day Four of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals clash.

After Vinay Choudhary (7 for 179) reduced Saurashtra to 267-7 at lunch, Mankad and Bhut struck a 92-run stand to bail Saurashtra out of the difficult situation. Bhut, who scored a century in the first innings, brought up his half-century with a six and chopped on off a Mayank Markande delivery to fall on the next ball.

Mankad, who survived a stumping attempt off Choudhary, however, stood firm and hit a flurry of boundaries and a couple of sixes to extend the lead to add to Punjab’s woes, before being dismissed by Choudhary.

- Shayan Acharya

Prerak Mankad holes out to deep square leg while attempting a slog sweep. He goes for 88 but has seen his team’s lead cross 250 runs. A fighting total which would give hope to Saurashtra bowlers. Vinay Choudhary ends with seven wickets in the innings.

The defending champion is just 29 away from a win. There have been a couple of loud appeals in the last few overs. Andhra sniffs half a chance here and is going all in. The next session is going to be the last one of this match.

Prerak Mankad is farming strike and dealing in boundaries. He hit a six and a four off Vinay Choudhary to move to 79. The lead nearing 250.

Vinay Choudhary picks his sixth wicket. Gets Sakariya caught at first slip. The lead stands at 228.

Is Andhra still in this game? Yarra gets the MP skipper Aditya Shrivastava caught behind to Ricky Bhui. Madhya Pradesh is within touching distance now. Surely it cannot falter from here.

Prerak Mankad on 62 as his team gets past 350 runs in the second innings. The lead is 223 runs and there still two wickets remaining. They’ve made a contest out of this one.

Lalith Mohan gets Patidar leg before. He goes for 55 off 76. But too little too late for Andhra, perhaps.

Rajat Patidar reaches fifty! He ensured MP didn’t lose the plot after Shubham Sharma’s wicket. Five fours and a six on his way to the half century. Madhya Pradesh closing in on a win.

And the next ball after completing his half century, Parth Bhut is gone! Chopped on off Mayank Markande! Chetan Sakariya joins the action at the crease. Mankad completes fifty in the next over with a four to deep cover boundary. The lead is past 200 runs.

Prerak Mankad and Parth Bhut going strong and have added 92 runs together. Mankad survived a stumping attempt off Vinay Choudhary before dispatching him for a six over long on. Parth Bhut brings up his half century with a maximum. Leads by 199.

Prithvi Raj Yarra with a crucial wicket! He gets Shubham Sharma and breaks the stand between him and Rajat Patidar. A small glimmer of hope for Andhra as Saransh Jain comes to bat.

Prerak Mankad drives through covers for a boundary to bring up a 50-run alliance off 80 balls. He moves to 31 off 54 with Parth Bhut on 23 off 36. A handy partnership as Saurashtra extends its lead to 157 over Punjab.

That’s the game! An emphatic win for Karnataka as it moves one step closer to getting hands on the Ranji title. Shreyas Gopal ends with three wickets in the innings to go along with his unbeaten century. Rightly judged the Player of the Match for his performance. Karnataka joins Bengal in the semifinals.

Vyshak dismissed Aditya Tare, the last recognised batter in the order, before Shreyas Gopal got his second wicket by trapping Nikhil Kohli leg before wicket. Uttarakhand 201/9.

Vinay Choudhary’s five-wicket haul (5 for 107) guided Punjab to gain upper hand over Saurashtra on the fourth day of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals. Three wickets fell in the first session as Saurashtra went into lunch at 267-7, with a 139-run lead.

Resuming the day at 138-4, Saurashtra started brisky with captain Arpit Vasavada (77) and Chirag Jani (77) forging a 140-run stand. While Punjab bowlers struggled initially, Choudhary brought them back into the game by finding a breakthrough.

It was a soft dismissal and Vasavada came down the ground and drilled a catch back to the bowler. Though the on-field umpires referred it to the third-umpire to check whether the ball bounced off the pitch after the batter toe-ended it, the decision went in Punjab’s favour.

Choudhary completed his five-for as Dharmendrasinh Jadeja fell to a sweep and was caught at deep backward square-leg by Baltej Singh. Two quick wickets turned things around for Punjab and to add to its woes, A horrible mix-up between Prerak Mankad and Jani saw the latter being run out.

While Punjab hoped to take control of the game, Saurashtra’s hopes were pinned on Mankad (20 not out) and Parth Bhut (17 not out).

-Shayan Acharya

The runs have dried up since the fall of the second wicket. Rajat Patidar has started slow and is 6 off 17. Shubham Sharma on 32 as the Lunch break approaches.

Shreyas Gopal removes Abhay Negi, trapped leg before on 15 runs. Mayank Mishra joins Aditya Tare. Karnataka three wickets away from a win.

Aditya Tare finding support in Abhay Negi and the two have combined for 23 runs. The trail is still at 302 runs and it is only a matter of time before Karnataka takes this game.

A comprehensive victory for Manoj Tiwary & Co. A chase of 67 was never going to be a challenge and the batters ensured it was completed in just 13 overs. The first semifinalist of the Ranji Trophy 2022/23 season. Akash Deep is awarded the Player of the Match award for his combined six wickets in the match.

Punjab has taken the new ball and Baltej comes back into the attack. Prerak Mankad and Parth Bhut are the batters tasked to face the red cherry. A lead worth 119 runs.

Easwaran and Gharami have nearly done the job for their team. Runs have come at nearly six runs per over. Just 10 from the target.

Vyshak takes his second wicket and Akhil Singh Rawat goes for 10. Karnataka needs just four more wickets to win.

A horror mix-up between Chirag Jani and Prerak Mankad as they both run towards the same end. Jani has to go for 77.

Lalith Mohan removes Yash Dubey on 58. Dubey edges a length ball to Gnaneshwar at slip. Madhya Pradesh 120/2 (37) as Rajat Patidar walks in.

Dharmendrasinh Jadeja falls to a sweep, caught at deep backward square-leg. Vinay Choudhary completes his fifer. Two quick wickets for Punjab and they are right back in the game. Prerak Mankad joins Chirag Jani.

Kazi Saifi pokes out an innocuous delivery outside off-stump and gets an outside edge to the keeper as Rahul Shukla takes his first wicket. Bengal needs 46 runs to win.

Huge wicket as skipper Arpit Vasavada departs for 77. Soft dismissal. He came down the groud and drilled a catch back to the bowler. Saurashtra leads by 72 runs. The umpire refers it to third-umpire to check whether the ball bounced off the pitch after the batter toe-ended it. The decision is touch-and-go and Vasavada isn’t too happy.

Swapil Singh falls for 51 off 100 and Vyshak gets his first wicket. Uttarakhand continues to sink as Karnataka now just needs five wickets to by an innings.

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After keeping the Bengal bowlers at bay for more than an hour, Rahul Shukla is run out for 10 and Ashish Kumar is clean bowled by Akash Ghatak next ball. Jharkhand is bowled out in 63.5 overs with a slender lead of 66 runs.

After the early setback in the morning, Shubham Sharma and Yash Dubey have added 35 runs to take Madhya Pradesh to a relatively comfortable position.

A 54-run unbroken stand by Supriyo Chakraborty and Rahul Shukla for the ninth wicket.

A 64-run partnership ends as D. Negi is gone and M. Venkatesh picks his second. Aditya Tare joins Swapnil Singh.

The hundred-run partnership is up between Chirag Jani and Arpit Vasavada off 233 balls as Siddharth Kaul darts in a bouncer that is too high. Saurashtra leads by 32 runs.

One ball after Vasavada gets to his fifty, Chirag Jani follows him to the mark with a cracking pull shot to the deep square leg fence. He gets there off 133 balls.

A fighting 114-ball fifty for the captain as Saurashtra now leads by 27 runs. Chiraj Jani on 46 at the other end. They have started the day well but have a lot to do still.

Supriyo Chakraborty and Rahul Shukla lead a gritty fightback for Jharkhand. They have added 38 runs for the ninth wicket after Shahbaz Nadeem fell early in the day.

Nitish Kumar strikes with the second ball of the day for Andhra! Himanshu Mantri nicks a ball down leg to Ricky Bhui. What a start.

- Lalith Kalidas

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Mayank Markande starts off the day’s proceedings and is on the money first ball, pitching it on middle and leg and beating the batter’s front-foot defensive shot.

Supriyo Chakraborty strikes a few lusty blows and Rahul Shukla gets off the mark with an outside edge to the third man boundary. Jharkhand leads by 27 runs.

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Bengal makes an early morning incision. Mukesh Kumar removes Shahbaz Nadeem. Jharkhand leads by 13 runs with two wickets in hand.

Shahbaz Ahmed’s splendid all-round showing gave Bengal a firm control over its Ranji Trophy quarterfinal match against Jharkhand at the Eden Gardens on Thursday.

Bengal, resuming at 238 for five, rode on Shahbaz’s 10 ^th half-century (81, 120b, 9x4, 2x6) to gather 328 in the first innings and secure a 155-run lead.

The home bowlers’ united effort, including Shahbaz’s two for 38, reduced Jharkhand to 162 for seven in the second innings and took Bengal closer to victory on the third day.

-Y.B. Sarangi

Saurashtra was reeling at 60 for 4 in its second innings, when Chirag Jani (35 n.o., 103b, 3x4) walked out to bat.

He took a bit of time to settle in before forging a 78-run stand with captain Arpit Vasavada (44 n.o., 100b, 3x4) to ensure Saurashtra ended the third day’s play at 138-4, with a slender lead of 10 runs against Punjab in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal on Thursday.

After Mandeep Singh’s 91 (206b, 9x4, 1x6) guided Punjab to 431 in the first innings, left-arm spinner Vinay Choudhary (3 for 61) dominated the second session, as Saurashtra struggled to get going in its second essay.

-Shayan Acharya

Madhya Pradesh’s spirited bowling comeback helped it neutralise the effect of Andhra’s first-innings lead to set itself a target of 245 in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Thursday.

Andhra’s fortunes dwindled with the setting sun on Day 3 as openers Yash Dubey and Himanshu Mantri lifted Madhya Pradesh to 58 for no loss at stumps, 187 runs away from a semifinal spot.

Andhra had strolled to lunch after left-arm seamer Prithvi Raj Yarra’s maiden First Class fifer (5/26) folded Madhya Pradesh for 228, earning it a 151-run lead. Aditya Shrivastava’s men could only manage 84 runs for the loss of six wickets in the session.

-Lalith Kalidas

In a day of largely slow-burn cricket, Karnataka moved to within seven wickets of victory in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Uttarakhand at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday.

After piling up a gigantic 606-run first-innings total, that fetched a lead of 490 runs, Karnataka reduced Uttarakhand to 106 for three at stumps on the third day.

Dikshanshu Negi (27 batting, 65b, 4x4) and Swapnil Singh (27 batting, 58b, 3x4, 1x6) put on a 50-run unbeaten partnership for the fourth wicket, ensuring that the visitors wouldn’t roll over. That they will have to bat out of their skins to just stretch the match into the fifth day tells the story.

-N. Sudarshan

When to watch Ranji Trophy 2022/23?

Ranji Trophy quarterfinals started from Tuesday, January 31 and will continue till Saturday, February 4. The play begins from 9:30 AM IST.

Where to watch Ranji Trophy 2022/23 on TV?

A select number of tournament matches are being telecast on Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 2 HD. The telecast also provides updates and scores from all matches at regular intervals.

Where to live stream Ranji Trophy 2022/23?

The streaming of the Ranji Trophy matches will be available on Disney+ Hotstar app.