Bengaluru: Uttar Pradesh defeated Karnataka by five wickets to qualify for the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy semifinals while Mumbai and Bengal also inched closer towards the last-four spot at the end of the third day’s play of the ongoing tournament, here on Wednesday.
On the other hand, Madhya Pradesh also were in a strong position against Punjab at stumps on Day 3.
Karnataka vs Uttar Pradesh
Chasing a tricky target of 213 in quarterfinals, Uttar Pradesh captain Karan Sharma dropped anchor with a solid 93 not out after his team lost their openers with just 28 on the board.
Karan added 59 runs for the third wicket with Priyam Garg, who raced to his 60-ball 52. But three quick wickets saw UP slip to 114 for 5 with the target still 99 runs away. Prince Yadav then gave the required support to UP skipper, who switched gears as a tiring Karnataka attack lost its fizz and eventually lost the match.
Mumbai vs Uttarakhand
In another quarterfinals, 41-time champions Mumbai took a giant step towards the semifinals as they continued to put a hapless Uttarakhand under more pressure with their mammoth score.
Having bowled out their opponents for 114 in the first innings, Mumbai stretched their lead to a whopping 794 runs with Yashasvi Jaiswal becoming the third centurion of the game following hundreds for Suved Parkar (252) and Sarfaraz Khan (153) in the first dig.
Jaiswal put on 115 for the opening wicket with Prithvi Shaw (72 off 80) after Mumbai opted against enforcing the follow on despite picking up a 533-run lead. Aditya Tare then made merry with a 56-ball 57 before Jaiswal completed his century and subsequently got out for 103.
Arman Jaffer and Parkar then batted out seven overs before the close of play, offering no indication of an imminent declaration. Earlier in the day, Shams Mulani claimed a five-wicket haul to orchestrate Uttarakhand’s batting capitulation, an Cricbuzz report said.
Bengal vs Jharkhand
Meanwhile, Bengal produced a rare moment of statistical quirk on the third day of their quarterfinal clash against Jharkhand after each of their top-nine batters (everyone who walked out to bat) went past 50.
It marked a record number of 50+ scores in an innings in first class with No 9 batter Akash Deep helping Bengal claim a piece of statistical history by smashing his way to an 18-ball 53. Before him, Bengal’s total of 773/7 decl. included centuries for Sudip Gharami and Anustup Majumdar while Manoj Tiwary and Shahbaz Ahmed recorded a pair of 70s each.
In reply, Jharkhand offered no contest when it was their turn to bat, slipping to 139/5 before close of play.
Punjab vs Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh inched closer to making a semifinal place their own after another excellent display on the third day of their clash against Punjab.
Having moved into the lead late on Day 2, MP pulled clear by 178 runs in the first innings with Rajat Patidar scoring 85 and Akshat Raghuwanshi chipping in with a 69 to go with Shubham Sharma hundred on the second day. Even though Vinay Choudhary (5 for 83) triggered a collapse that saw MP lose their last five wickets for 15 runs, the lead had swelled enough to keep Punjab at bay.
In reply, Punjab slipped to 120/5 with Kumar Kartikeya claiming four of those wickets to fall. Shubman Gill had a second failure in the game, hitting three fours and a six in his 13-ball 19 before falling.
Brief scores:
Karnataka vs Uttar Pradesh
Karnataka 253 & 114 (Saurabh Kumar 3-36, Ankit Rajpoot 2-15) lost to UP 155 & 213/5 (Karan Sharma 93 not out, Priyam Garg 52; Vijaykumar Vyshak 3-47) by 5 wickets
Mumbai vs Uttarakhand
Mumbai 647/8 decl. & 261/3 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 103, Prithvi Shaw 72; Mayank Mishra 1-83) lead UTK 114 (Kamal Singh 40; Shams Mulani 5-39) by 794 runs.
Bengal vs Jharkhand
Bengal 773/7 decl (Sudip Gharami 186, Anustup Majumdar 117; Sushant Mishra 3-140) lead Jharkhand 139/5 (Nazim Siddiqui 53; Sayan Mondal 3-32, Shahbaz Ahmed 2-5) by 634 runs.
Punjab vs Madhya Pradesh
Punjab 219 & 120/5 (Kumar Kartikeya 4-31) trail MP 397 (Shubham Sharma 102, Rajat Patidar 85; Vinay Choudhary 5-83) by 58 runs
(IANS)
