On last day of second round in the 2021/22 Ranji Trophy, Kerala, Mumbai, Saurashtra and Karnataka registered victories in different ways. Apart from these teams, Bengal, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, too emerged victorious in their respective matches.
Elite Group A
Kerala's Rohan Kunnummal notched up yet another century to lead his team to a famous eight-wicket win over Gujarat at Rajkot. After making 129 in the first innings two days ago, Kunnummal made an unbeaten 106 off 87 balls to lead the way in acing a daunting chase of 214.
After Gujarat's second innings ended at 264, Kunnummal got support from captain Sachin Baby (62 off 76 balls) to achieve six points for the win with a whirlwind chase.
In the other match, Madhya Pradesh won by an innings and 301 runs against Meghalaya. Meghalaya were just out for 61 in the first innings, with Gourav Kumar taking 5/11.
In response, Madhya Pradesh declared at a mammoth 499/6, thanks to centuries from Shubham Sharma (111), Akshat Raghuvanshi (100 not out) and 86 from Rajat Patidar. The side then bowled out Meghalaya for 137, with Anubhav Agarwal taking 5/38, ensuring a big win with a bonus point.
Kerala and Madhya Pradesh have 13 points each in the group, with the latter ahead due to superior net run rate. The match between these two teams from March 3 will determine the topper of the Group.
Elite Group B
Bengal cruised to top of the points table after defeating Hyderabad by 72 runs at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. Chasing 239, Hyderabad's overnight batter Tilak Varma made 90 to keep his side in the hunt. But he got very little support from other batters as Akash Deep had a great spell of 4/41 while left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed complimented well with 3/41.
In the other match at the Vikash Cricket Ground, Baroda took the first innings lead as their match against Chandigarh ended in a draw. The destiny of the match was sealed when Chandigarh were 168 all out in reply to a mammoth 517 from Baroda. Though Chandigarh made 473/7, it wasn't enough to deny Baroda three points.
Bengal now have 12 points while Hyderabad is stuck at six points. Baroda has three points and Chandigarh has just a solitary point.
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Elite Group C
Karnataka registered an emphatic 117-run win over Jammu and Kashmir at the IIT Chemplast Ground in Chennai. Needing 508 to win on final day, Jammu and Kashmir were kept in the hunt, thanks to 110 from Ian Dev Singh Chauhan and a quickfire 70 from all-rounder Abdul Samad. The duo put up a partnership of 143 for the fifth wicket.
But when Samad was dismissed by S Sharath and Chauhan by K Gowtham, Jammu and Kashmir looked in trouble. Though Parvez Rasool and Abid Mushtaq tried to resurrect the chase, pacer Prasidh Krishna took out the tail quickly to end the innings at 390 to earn a ten-wicket match haul as Karnataka pocketed six points.
In other match at the Gurunanak College Ground, Railways took the first-innings lead against Pondicherry as the match ended in a draw. After Railways declared at 525/9 with a lead of 183 in the first innings, Paras Dogra made an unbeaten 64 while Pavan Deshpande too was unconquered at 59. The duo's efforts meant that Railways couldn't go out for a win and had to settle with the first innings lead.
Ahead of the final round, Karnataka are on top at nine points while Jammu and Kashmir are second at six points.
Elite Group D
Shams Mulani starred with bat and ball as Mumbai defeated Goa by 119 runs at Ahmedabad to keep their play-offs hopes alive. After some resistance acts by Ajinkya Rahane (56) and Sarfaraz Khan (48), Mulani stood up with a half-century and along with 98 from Tanush Kotian helped in Mumbai setting a target of 232 for Goa. In reply, Goa were 80/9 as Mulani took a five-wicket haul with his left-arm spin. Amulya Pandrekar and Amit Yadav resisted for a bit till Kotian took out the latter in the last hour to script a memorable win for Mumbai.
In the other match, Saurashtra defeated Odisha by an innings and 131 runs to be in the hunt for the play-offs. After bowling out Odisha for 165, Saurashtra made a massive 501, thanks to Chirag jani's 235. With a big lead in hand, Saurashtra bowled out Odisha for 205 to secure a win with a bonus point. In the points table, Mumbai are at the top with nine points while Saurashtra are just a point behind.
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Brief Scores:
Saurashtra Won by an innings and 131 Runs vs Odisha
Karnataka Won by 117 Runs vs J&K
Mumbai Won by 119 Runs vs Goa
Kerala Won by 8 Wickets vs Gujarat
