Ranji Trophy: Bengal and Vidharba in last four
While Karnataka beat 41-time champion Mumbai on Sunday, Delhi thumped Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha drubbed Kerala and Bengal posted a mammoth 825-run lead against Gujarat on Monday before bad light stopped play and sent Bengal into the semifinals by virtue of first innings lead.
Published : Dec 11, 2017 09:47 IST
Good Morning!
Welcome to Sportstar's LIVE coverage of fifth and final day's action from the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals.
In case, you missed the action from the first three days of play, read on to know more.
It can be safely said that they fourth day's play belonged to Karnataka. It thumped Mumbai by an innings and 20 runs to enter the semifinal. How did Karnataka manage to stun the 41-time champion? Click here to find out.
Karnataka skipper Vinay Kumar was undoubtedly an elated man. It was, afterall, his effort with the ball on the first day morning that turned the tables in his side's favour. This is what he had to say after the match.
And this is how the action unfurled on day four.
Click here to know the scores and the match reports after the third day's play.
Click here to know the scores and the match reports after the second day's play.
Click here for the scores and the match reports to know how the teams fared on the first day of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals.
Let us see what Day Five has in store for us! Read on...
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Kerala vs Vidarbha at Surat ( SCORECARD )
Sarvate finishes it off for Vidarbha. He takes six wickets as Vidarbha beats Kerala by 412 runs. He takes the wicket of the last man Warrier for 4 as Kerala folds for 165 runs in its second innings. Sarvate returns with figures of 16.2-4-41-6. Brief scores: Vidarbha 1st innings: 246 (A.V. Wadkar 53, A.A. Sarvate 36, K.C. Akshay 5/66, Jalaj Saxena 3/52) Kerala 1st innings: 176 (Jalaj Saxena 40, Sanju Samson 32, R.N. Gurbani 5/38) Vidarbha 2nd innings: 507/9 decl. (Faiz Fazal 119, A.V. Wankhade 107, A.V. Wadkar 67*, K.C. Akshay 4/118) Kerala 2nd innings: 165 (Salman Nizar 64, A.A. Sarvate 6/41, R.N. Gurbani 2/30) |
3.33 pm: Just a matter of time for Vidarbha to wrap this up. We will be having the third outright win in four matches in the quarterfinals.
3.25 pm: Sarvate takes a five-for! Kerala loses its 9th wicket. Sarvate breaches M.D. Nidheesh defence and the Kerala batsman is gone for 6. Kerala 157/9 and Sarvate's figures reads 15.4-4-37-5.
2.55 pm: Tea time in Surat. Kerala wobbling at 152/8 in 48 overs. M.D. Nidheesh on 4 off 28 balls and Rohan Prem on 7 off 34 balls will resume after the break. The duo must see off one whole session to deny Vidarbha an outright win. For the academic record, Kerala needs 426 more runs to win.
2.45 pm: Kerala is past the 150-run mark. 152/8 in the 46th over, need 426 more runs to win while Vidarbha hopes the two wickets aren't elusive to deny an outright win.
2.25 pm: Four wickets for Sarvate. K.C. Akshay is out first ball, trapped in front and Kerala is 143/8. It looks like Kerala is giving up easily. Sarvate's figures are 10.1-2-29-4 as of now.
2.15 pm: Double blow by Sarvate. He sends back the well set Salman Nizar and Basil Thampi in the space of four balls as Kerala in dire straits at 143/7. Sarvate first has Nizar caught by Wadkar for 64 and then four balls later Wankhade takes a catch to see off Thampi. Sarvate now has figures of 10-2-29-3. Rohan Prem and K.C. Akshay are in the middle and Kerala is struggling to stay alive here.
2.05 pm: K.B. Arun Karthick is the next man to go. He is out lbw to Sarvate for 3 and Kerala has lost half its side for 140 on board.
1.52 pm: Sachin Baby is dismissed for 26 (off 57 balls, 3 fours), trapped infront by R.N. Gurbani and Kerala loses its 4th wicket for 137. Baby and Nizar have added 51 runs for the 4th wicket. Kerala needs 441 more to win.
1.40 pm: Nizar and Sachin Baby put on an unbroken 47 runs for the fourth wicket as Kerala goes to 133/3 in 33 overs, needing 445 runs to win.
1.15 pm: 50 for Salman Nizar. He is on 54 off 74 balls, with 3 fours and 4 sixes. Kerala 111/3, 467 more to win.
12.59 pm: 100 up for Kerala. 100/3 in 22 overs, needing 478 more to win, or we can just say Vidarbha needs 7 more wickets to win. Salman Nizar on 46 and Sachin Baby on 6 in the middle.
12.44 pm: Three down! Sanju Samson departs for 18, off just 17 balls with 2 fours and 1 six, as Kerala is 86/3. He is caught by Wankhade off Karn Sharma.
12.36 pm: Salman Nizar and Sanju Samson have taken Kerala to 85/2 in 16 overs. Needing 493 in about 59 overs, Kerala's woes are far from over.
And it is lunch time at Surat. Kerala goes into the break at 59/2, needing 519 more runs to advance to the semifinal while Vidarbha just needs to ensure Kerala doesn't get there. It doesn't matter even if Vidarbha does not take the eight remaining wickets. It will go through on the basis of taking the first-innings lead.
11.45 am: Kerala loses its second wicket for 59 on board. Opener Mohammed Azharuddeen is caught by A.V. Wankhade off A.A. Wakhare for 28 (33). Kerala 59/2 in 11.2 overs.
11.30 am: Kerala gets to the 50-run mark. 53/1 in the 10th over. 525 more runs to win. Mohammed Azharuddeen and Salman Nizar in the middle.
11.00 am: That's a horrid start for Kerala. Jalaj Saxena is out first ball and Kerala is 5/1 in 0.3 overs. R.N. Gurbani traps Saxena infront.
| 10.50 am: And the declaration comes! Vidarbha declares its second innings on 507/9 with an overall lead of 577. Kerala needs 588 runs to win the match, with 75 overs remaining in the day. |
10.49 am: Vidarbha loses its 9th wicket and K.C. Akshay picks up four. Akshay traps R.N. Gurbani in front and Vidarbha is 507/9. Akshay's figures read 44.4-9-118-4 for now!
10.45 am: 500 up for Vidarbha.
10.33 am: Vidarbha loses its 8th wicket. A.A. Sarvate is caught by Mohammed Azharuddeen off K. Akshay for 22 (40). Vidarbha 493/8, lead by 563 runs.
10.26 am: Wadkar gets to his 50. 51 runs in 92 balls with four hits to the fence. Vidarbha 484/7.
10.20 am: At 480/7 with A.V. Wadkar on 47 and A.A. Sarvate on 17, Vidarbha takes its lead to 550-run mark now.
10.04 am: Vidarbha swells its lead to 537 as it reaches 467/7 in 137 overs.
9.43 am: Kerala strikes early. Karn Sharma is the man dismissed for 7. Sanju Samson takes the catch off M.D. Nidheesh and Vidarbha loses its 7th wicket for 450. Vidarbha leads by 520 runs.
9.40 am: Vidarbha brings up its 450. 450/6 in 130.5 overs.
9.15 am: Vidarbha resumes the day on 431/6 in 124 overs, A V Wadkar 20 off 49, Karn Sharma 4 off 8.
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Delhi vs Madhya Pradesh at Vijayawada ( SCORECARD )
That's it. Delhi beats Madhya Pradesh by 7 wickets to storm into the Ranji Trophy semifinals. Dhruv Shorey on 46 and Nitish Rana on 6 see off the chase. The chase was largely built on Gautam Gambhir's 95 while opener Kunal Chandela chipped in with 57. Brief scores: Madhya Pradesh 1st innings: 338 (Harpreet Singh 107, Ankit Dane 59, Manan Sharma 4/46, Vikas Mishra 3/46) Delhi 1st innings: 405 (Kunal Chandela 81, Dhruv Shorey 78, Mihir Hirwani 5/89) Madhya Pradesh 2nd innings: 283 (Harpreet Singh 78, Puneet Datey 60, Vikas Mishra 4/59) Delhi 2nd innings: 217/3 (Gautam Gambhir 95, Kunal Chandela 57). |
1.00 pm: Heartbreak for Gautam Gambhir. He is run out for 95. He has played 129 balls with nine boundaries and one six. Nitish Rana has joined Dhruv Shorey in the middle. Gambhir must be totally aghast on not taking Delhi past the finish line. 205/3 in 50 overs, 12 more to win. Dhruv and Gambhir have added 95 runs for the third wicket.
12.57 pm: Delhi goes past 200. It needs just 13 more to win now. A mere formality for the well set Gambhir and Shorey. 204/2.
12.43 pm: Delhi now needs just 28. It is sitting pretty on 189/2 in 45 overs.
12.37 pm: The Delhi batsmen are in a hurry to finish this off. On 182/2 in the 43rd over with just 35 more to win, Delhi is making merry. Gambhir has moved to 82 while Shorey is on 31.
11.45 am: Lunch break at Vijayawada. Delhi is sitting pretty at 163/2 in 40 overs with Gautam Gambhir on 69 and Dhruv Shorey on 25. It needs just 54 runs to win the match and advance to the semifinal.
11.35 am: Gambhir and Dhruv Shorey are anchoring this chase very well. Madhya Pradesh cannot get its plans in place as Delhi gets to the 150-run mark. 152/2 with 65 more runs to win.
11.18 am: Delhi is cruising here. Gautam Gambhir gets to a 50 too. He has taken 78 balls with 5 boundaries as Delhi is on 124/2, 93 more to win.
11.01 am: Delhi loses its second wicket. Chandela departs for 57, off 85 balls. He is caught by Naman Ojha off Mihir Hirwani. Delhi 109/2, needing another identical number to enter the semifinals.
10.51 am: 50 for Kunal Chandela. He is unbeaten on 53 off 73 balls and has hit 5 fours and 2 sixes. Delhi 99/1, 118 more to win.
10.40 am: Delhi doing it right on the 5th day morning. 77/1 in the 22nd over, with 140 more runs to go.
10.15 am: Delhi goes past the 50-run mark. 55/1 in 15.4 overs with 162 more runs to win the match.
10.02 am: End of 13 overs, Delhi is 38/1 with Kunal Chandela unbeaten on 21 and Gautam Gambhir unbeaten on 10. Delhi needs 179 more runs to reach the semifinal.
9.31 am: V. Tokas is dismissed and Delhi loses its first wicket for just 11 on the board. Tokas is caught by Harpeet Singh off Ishwar Pandey for 6, off 15 balls.
9.15 am: Delhi starts the new day on 8/0 after three overs, Kunal Chandela and Tokas have the task of getting the team off to a solid start.
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Gujarat vs Bengal at Jaipur ( SCORECARD )
No more play possible at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium and the match is drawn. Bengal has progressed to the semifinal by virtue of taking the first innings lead . The defending champion bows out in the quarterfinal stage only after Bengal sent it on a mammoth leather hunt. Bengal piled on Gujarat's misery by posting 695/6 in 231 overs on the fifth and final day with Writtick Chatterjee top scoring with 216. Anustup Majumdar was unbeaten on 132 while Abhimanyu Easwaran scored 114 earlier. Brief scores: Bengal 1st innings: 354 (Abhimanyu Easwaran 129, Anustup Majumdar 94, Ishwar Chaudhary 5/87, C.T. Gaja 3/93) Gujarat 1st innings: 224 (B.H. Merai 67, Parthiv Patel 47, Ashoke Dinda 3/48, B. Amit 3/53, Ishan Porel 3/64) Bengal 2nd innings: 695/6 (Writtick Chatterjee 216, Anustup Majumdar 132*, Abhimanyu Easwaran 114, Ishwar Chaudhary 2/95) |
2.57 pm: Bad light plays spoilsport again. The play is stopped with Bengal on 695/6.
2.35 pm: Tea time at SMS. Bengal is on 695/6 with Anustup Majumdar on 132 off 172 balls and Aamir Gani on 53 off 154 balls. Will Gujarat get a reprieve of atleast one session? Will Bengal declare and let its bowlers flex their muscles? We'll have to wait and watch!
2.30 pm: Aamir Gani gets to a 50. He is unbeaten on 53 off 156 balls and Bengal is on 695/6, leading Gujarat by a mammoth 825 runs.
1.52 pm: Play has resumed at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium. Bengal 635/6, leading by 765 runs.
1.15 pm: We have a break here. Bad light has disrupted play here in Sawai Man Singh Stadium. Bengal on 633/6, leading Gujarat by 763 runs.
1.05 pm: Century for Anustup Majumdar. He is on 100 off 146 balls (15 fours and 1 six). Bengal 633/6, lead by 763 runs.
12.32 pm: Bengal is past the 600-run mark. 601/6 in the 208th over with a lead of 731 runs. The defending champion's woes continues.
11.45 am: Lunch time at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium. Bengal goes into the break at 590/6, a lead of 720 runs. Anustup Majumdar on 76 and Aamir Gani on 9 will resume after the break.
11.14 am: Bengal lead by 703. Anustup Majumdar (64) and Aamir Gani (5) take Bengal to 574/6 in the 196th over and the lead is over 700 now.
11.02 am: 50 for Anustup Majumdar. He is on 53 off 78 balls with 12 fours. Bengal 560/6. A whopping 690 run lead.
10.40 am: B. Amit is out for 11 (48) and Bengal loses its 6th wicket for 538 on board. Amit is caught by Priyank Panchal off R.H. Bhatt.
10.10 am: Bengal's lead goes past the 650-run mark. At the end of 180 overs, Bengal is 524/5, with Anustup Majumdar on 31 and B. Amit on no score in the middle. With a first innings lead to its advantage, will Bengal fancy a declaration to give its bowlers a chance to run through Gujarat is something we have to wait and watch!
9.57 am: 500 up for Bengal. 507/5 in 177.3 overs, an overall lead of 637, virtually making it the last day for Gujarat in action as the defending champion.
9.36 am: Gujarat finally finds a way to dismiss the double centurion. Substitute fielder Dhruv Raval takes a catch off C.T. Gaja to send Writtick Chatterjee on his way, but not before he sent the defending champion on a leather hunt. Writtick is out for 216 (370) and Bengal is 491/5.
9.15 am: Bengal will resume day five on 483/4 in 169 overs, Writtick Chatterjee 213 off 355, Anustup Majumdar 6 off 15.
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This is how the four venues look like and the wickets on offer.
Click here to read who topped the batting charts at the end of the league phase of the tournament.
Click here to see who sizzled the ball after the league phase of the Ranji Trophy.