Ranji Trophy Round 9 and quarterfinals line up

Ranji-Trophy

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The final round of 2019/2020 Ranji Trophy matches saw some exciting action with 2 more teams qualifying from Group A and B. From Group A, Gujarat, Bengal, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Saurashtra qualified for the knockout stage.

In Group C, Jammu and Kashmir finished top of the points table with 39 balls despite loss to Haryana. Odisha registered 3 points and moved up to 38 points.  Goa progressed through the knockout round after defeating Mizoram easily in the Plate Group.

Group A

GUJARATKVSGIRI

Bengal qualified for the quarterfinals defeating Punjab by 48 runs in a low scoring thriller played at Patiala. Bengal captain Abhimanyu Easawaran won the toss and decided to bat first. The experienced Manoj Tiwary played great innings remaining not out on 73 as Bengal was bowled out for 138. Vinay Chaudhary took 6 for 54.

In reply, Punjab could only muster 151 runs thanks to Rohan Marawha 48 and Anmol Malhotra 44. Shahbaz Ahmed wreaked havoc as he took 7 for 57. Bengal in their 2nd innings batted better posting 202 runs as Manoj Tiwary 65 and Arnab Nandi 51. Krishnan Alang took 6 for 53

Chasing 190 runs to win, apart from Ramandeep Singh 69 not out, none of Punjab batsmen could score runs as they were bowled out for 141 to give Bengal 48 runs win.

Gujarat topped the table with a crushing 8 wicket win over Andhra Pradesh played at Nadiad. Andhra Pradesh captain Srikar Bharat won the toss and decided to bat first. The decision did not pay as Gujarat bowlers dismissed Andhra Pradesh for just 177. Karan Shinde 49 and Sumanth 40 were top scorers. Arzan Nagaswalla took 4 for 18.

Chirag Gandhi 93, Axar Patel 89, Parthiv Patel 57 and contributions from lower-order helped Gujarat post a massive total of 406 with a lead of 229 runs. Shoaib Md Khan took 4 for 80.

In their second innings, Andhra Pradesh showed some resistance as they posted 258 runs. Axar Patel was the pick of bowlers for Gujarat with figures of 7 for 92. Karan Shinde was the top scorer for Andhra Pradesh with 64.

Chasing 31 runs to win, Gujarat chased down with the loss of 2 wickets.

The match between Delhi and Rajasthan ended in a draw with Delhi earning 3 points. Both teams did not qualify for the knockout stage. Delhi posted a massive total of 623 runs thanks to centuries by Hiten Dalal, Kshitiz Sharma, Bidhuri (111). Rajasthan were bowled out for 299 runs in their first innings. Ashok Menaria was the top scorer with 119.

The match between Vidarbha and Hyderabad ended in a draw with Vidarbha earning 3 points. Vidarbha could not defend their title for the 3rd successive time.

Deciding to follow on, Rajasthan ended 345 for 6 with Mahipal Lomror with 118.

Group B

Karnataka qualified for the quarterfinals with a crushing 8 wicket win over Baroda played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. Karnataka captain Karun Nair won the toss and decided to bowl first. The decision paid off as Abhimanyu Mithun 3 for 26, Prasidh Krishna 2 for 7 and Krishnappa Gowtham 3 for 25 bowled out Baroda for a paltry total of 85.

R-Ashwin

In reply, Karnataka were bowled out for 233 runs in their first innings. Karun Nair led from the front as he was the top scorer with 47. Mithun also played an important knock scoring 40 in quick time to get the hosts 148 runs lead.

Baroda in their 2nd innings fared much better as they posted 296 runs. Ahmadnoor Pathan was the top scorer with 90. Prasidh Krishna was the pick of bowlers with 4 for 45.

Chasing 148 runs to win, Karun Nair showed his class and remained not out on 71 to help Karnataka register a thumping 8 wicket win.

The match between Saurashtra and Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Mumbai ended in a draw. Saurashtra earned the first innings lead despite TN scoring a massive total.

Himachal Pradesh ended the season on a high defeating Uttar Pradesh by a massive 386 runs played at Lucknow. UP captain Ankit Rajpoot won the toss and decided to field first. The UP bowlers did a brilliant job to bowl out Himachal Pradesh for 220. Aquib Khan was the pick of bowlers for UP with 5 for 42. Nikhil Gangta was the top scorer with 49.

It was an exceptional effort by Himachal Pradesh bowlers as they bundled out Uttar Pradesh for just 119. Akashdeep Nath was the top scorer for UP with 46. Rishi Dhawan took 5 for 32. In their 2nd innings, Himachal Pradesh batsmen piled on the runs with a massive total of 433 for 7 declare. Akash Vashist 141 and Nikhil Gangta 102 were top scorers.

Chasing 535 runs to win, Uttar Pradesh batsmen could not provide resistance and were bowled out for 148 with Aryan Juyal with 56. Vaibhav Arora took 5 for 41 and Rishi Dhawan 3 for 46.

The match between Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh ended with Mumbai earning 3 points while Madhya Pradesh 1 point.

Group C

Odisha qualified for the quarterfinals as they earned 3 points against Jharkhand played at Barbati Stadium, Cuttack. Jharkhand captain Saurabh Tiwary won the toss and decided to field first. It was a superb batting display by Odisha batsmen as they posted 436 runs. D Samantray 156 and Biplab Samantray 74 helped Odisha post such a massive total. Ashish Kumar took 6 for 79.

RANJI-TROPHY-DELHI-VIDARBHA-round7In reply, Jharkhand could only post 356 runs in their first innings. Suraj Kumar 107, Virat Singh 83 were top scorers. Basant Mohanty 3 for 53 and S Pradhan 3 for 86 were the pick of bowlers. Odisha in their 2nd innings scored 187 for 1 before the players shook hands.

Haryana ended the season on a high defeating Group C table-toppers Jammu and Kashmir by 2 wickets played at Jammu. Jammu and Kashmir captain Parveez Rasool won the toss and decided to bat first. It was a decent batting performance by J and K as they posted 340 runs. Shubam Pundir was the top scorer with 84. Rahul Tewatia took 7 for 98.

Despite Pramod Chandila 119 and Ankit Kumar 63, Haryana posted 291 runs in their first innings. Mujtaba Yousuf took 6 for 49.

In their 2nd innings, Jammu and Kashmir were bowled out for 174 runs. Suryansh Rana was the top scorer with 38. Jayant Yadav was the pick of bowlers with 7 for 58.

Chasing 224 runs to win, a superb batting performance by Chandila remaining not out on 75 helped Haryana register a thrilling 2 wicket win.

Maharashtra earned their fourth successive win of the tournament against Uttarakhand by 67 runs.

The match between Assam and Tripura ended in a draw with Tripura earning the first innings lead over Assam.

Services outside the chance of reaching the knockout stage as their match against Chhattisgarh ended in draw. Chhattisgarh were bowled out for 179 runs in the first innings. In reply, Services posted 398 runs. Thanks to Jiwanjot 236, Harpreet Singh 191 and Anuj Tiwary 100* helped Chhattisgarh post 586 for 3.

Plate Group

Goa qualified for the quarterfinals with a crushing an innings and 211 runs win over Mizoram. Mizoram captain KB Pawan won the toss and decided to field first. Smit Patel 236, Amit Verma 148 helped Goa declare their innings on 490 for 4.

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Mizoram were bowled out for a paltry total of 109 runs in the first innings. Taruwar Kohli was the top scorer with 50 not out. In their 2nd innings, apart KB Pawan 111* Mizoram were bowled out for 170. Amit Verma took 5 for 39 for Goa. Goa won the match by an innings and 211 runs.

Puducherry and Chandigarh won their respective matches by an innings. Puducherry defeated Nagaland by an innings and 195 runs while Chandigarh crushed Manipur by an innings and 405 runs. Meghalaya also won their last match of the tournament by an innings and 248 runs over Arunachal Pradesh.

The match between Sikkim and Bihar ended in a draw.

Points Table

Group A and B

  1. Gujarat- 35 points
  2. Bengal-32 points
  3. Karnataka-31 points
  4. Saurashtra- 31 points
  5. Andhra Pradesh-27
  6. Punjab-24 points
  7. Vidarbha-21 points
  8. Uttar Pradesh-20 points
  9. Tamil Nadu-20 points
  10. Himachal Pradesh-19 points
  11. Delhi-18 points
  12. Rajasthan-16 points
  13. Railways-16 points
  14. Baroda-14 points
  15. Mumbai-14 points
  16. Madhya Pradesh-12 points
  17. Kerala-10 points
  18. Hyderabad-7 points

Group C

  1. Jammu and Kashmir-39 points
  2. Odisha-38 points
  3. Haryana-36 points
  4. Services-36 points
  5. Maharashtra-34 points
  6. Jharkhand-24 points
  7. Chhattisgarh- 23 points
  8. Assam-15 points
  9. Tripura- 9 points
  10. Uttarakhand- 2 points

Plate Group

  1. Goa- 50 points
  2. Puducherry- 48 points
  3. Chandigarh-43 points
  4. Meghalaya-34 points
  5. Bihar-30 points
  6. Nagaland-19 points
  7. Manipur-12 points
  8. Mizoram-12 points
  9. Sikkim- 11 points
  10. Arunachal Pradesh- 3 points

Quarterfinals line up

  1. Gujarat versus Goa (24th February)- Valsad
  2. Bengal versus Odisha (24th February)- Cuttack
  3. Karnataka versus Jammu and Kashmir (24th February)- Venue to be confirmed
  4. Saurashtra versus Andhra Pradesh (24th February)- Ongole