RANJI TROPHY
GROUP B
Indore, Jan 31: Left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya produced a stellar performance as Madhya Pradesh stormed into the knockout stage of the Ranji Trophy after notching up a 133-run win over Maharashtra on day three of their final Group B match here on Saturday.
Saurashtra also registered an innings and 56-run win over Chandigarh to be currently placed second in the standings, almost securing their qualification. The only way they can miss out is if Karnataka manage an outright win against Punjab in Mohali on Sunday.
Starting the day at 166 for 4, MP posted 258 all out in 76.1 overs to set Maharashtra a victory target of 267.
Overnight batter Shubham Sharma made 90, while Saransh Jain (23) and Kartikeya (20) chipped in with useful contributions after Sagar Solanki added just four more runs to his overnight score of 10. Venkatesh Iyer had scored 60 on Friday.
In reply, Maharashtra, who had folded for 179 in the first innings, once again collapsed, with their batters registering four ducks, which included birthday boy Ruturaj Gaikwad.
A total of eight batters got single-digit scores as Maharashtra were all out for 133 in just 36 overs. Kartikeya (4/49), who had taken six wickets in the first innings, once again troubled the opposition with four wickets to complete a 10-wicket match haul. Medium pacer Aryan Pandey (4/17) also snared four wickets, while Jain (2/39) took two.
Saurashtra tame Chandigarh
Left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (4/53) and medium pacer Chirag Jani (4/78) snapped four wickets each as Saurashtra dismissed Chandigarh for 261 to secure an innings and 56-run win.
The game was set up by Harvik Desai’s unbeaten 200, which lifted them to 453 for 3 declared in their first innings. Chandigarh, who folded for 136 in the first innings, needed a valiant effort in their second essay after starting the day at 31 for no loss, but it proved too much in the end as they were dismissed in 64 overs.
Raj Bawa (55) scored a fifty, while Shivam Bhambri (48), Vaibhav Narang (47) and Arjun Azad (32) got starts but couldn’t stay longer to make a match of it.
Karnataka hoping for miracle against Punjab
In need of an outright win to qualify for the knockouts, Karnataka were left playing catch-up as Punjab reached 119 for 3 in 45 overs, riding on a fine 63 not out by skipper Uday Saharan on the third day. Resuming their first innings at 255 for 6, Karnataka folded for 316 in 110.2 overs, taking a slender lead.
Shreyas Gopal, who was on 42 on day two, made 77, but fellow overnight batter Vidyadhar Patil (34) fell in the 97th over.Harpreet Brar (4/125), Sukhdeep Singh Bajwa (3/42) and Anmoljeet Singh (2/62) shared nine wickets.In response, Punjab posted 119 for 3 at stumps with opener Abhijeet Garg (33) and Saharan (63) doing the bulk of the scoring.
With just one day left, it would take a miracle for Karnataka to force a result on Sunday. (PTI)
