Karnataka quarters chances stubbed Haryana, Mumbai roll out big guns

Saurashtra’s hopes of making it to the quarterfinals are well and truly alive, while Haryana put an end to Karnataka’s qualification chances on Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy. Here is a look at what unfolded across the different venues.Luck seems to be smiling on Mumbai to make it to the quarterfinals. While a win with a bonus point against Meghalaya was a given, they needed help from one of Jammu & Kashmir or Baroda. And their prayers are being answered J&K, which had incidentally defeated Mumbai in the previous round.
Having restricted group-leaders J&K to 246 in the first innings, Baroda needed to overhaul the total for their passage to the quarterfinals. Instead, J&K spinners weaved a web around Baroda to shut them out for 166 with off-spinner Sahil Lotra being the pick of the bowlers with four wickets (4-26 in 25.1 overs). And having taken a huge lead, J&K have started their second essay on a strong note in Vadodara. J&K now have a lead of 205 and have nine wickets in hand as Baroda now need to win this match outright to make it past the group stages.
Story continues below this ad

At BKC, Siddhesh Lad, Akash Anand and Shams Mulani scored centuries while Ajinkya Rahane made 96 and Shardul Thakur a 42-ball 84, as Mumbai declared at 671/7 in response to Meghalaya’s 86. On Day 3, Mumbai need 8 wickets to wrap up the win and seal their spot.
Akash Anand was one of the three centurions for Mumbai against Meghalaya in their Ranji Trophy match played at MCA in Mumbai. (Express Photo Amit Chakravarty)
Brief scores: At Mumbai: Meghalaya 86 & 27/2 vs Mumbai 671/7 dec (Siddhesh Lad 145, Akash Anand 103, Shams Mulani 101, Ajinkya Rahane 96, Shardul Thakur 84, Suryansh Shedge 61).
At Vadodara: Jammu & Kashmir 246 & 125/1 (Shubham Khajuria 67 batting) vs Baroda 166 (Shivalik Sharma 64; Sahil Lotra 4/26, Shubham Khajuria 3/47, Abid Mushtaq 3/56).
Group B: Gujarat open doors for Himachal
At Ahmedabad, the match between Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh is setting up for a tight finish. On Day 2, Gujarat had the chance to bat Himachal out of the game, but an ordinary batting effort saw them being dismissed for 247 and take a slender lead of 32 runs. It now comes down to the second innings with Himachal, needing a win. They have a chance to set Gujarat a steep target provided they bat well on Day 3. With a lead of 32 runs, and 8 wickets in hand, Himachal have an opportunity to make a match out of this.Story continues below this ad
Brief scores: Himachal Pradesh 215 & 63/2 vs Gujarat 247 (Jaymeet Patel 55, Manan Hingrajia 45; Mayank Dagar 4/62, Mukul Negi 3/71).
Group C: Kerala confirm spot, Haryana shut doors on Karnataka
As expected, Jalaj Saxena returned with a match haul of 10 wickets at Thumba as Kerala defeated Bihar an innings and 169 runs to qualify for the first time in five seasons. It was the off-spinner’s record 11th 10-wicket haul in Ranji Trophy as Bihar were bowled out for 64 and 118 on Friday after Kerala posted 351 in the first innings that ended earlier on the second day. Kerala could even end up topping the table if Haryana end up conceding first innings lead to Karnataka.
At M Chinnaswamy Stadium, where Karnataka needed to win with a bonus point to qualify, they faced an uphill task against Haryana. Made to bat first, Karnataka needed to bat once and long which could give them a shot at dismissing Haryana twice. And resuming the day at 267/5, Karnataka managed only 304 and once Haryana avoided follow-on with their captain Ankit Kumar leading from the front with 118, the door was shut on the former champions, who failed to make it to the knockouts for the first time since 2014/15 season.
Brief scores: At Thumba: Kerala 351 (Salman Nazir 150) bt Bihar 64 (Jalaj Saxena 5/19) & 118 (Sakibul Gani 31; Jalaj Saxena 5/34, Aditya Sarwate 3/27) an innings & 169 runs.Story continues below this ad
At Bengaluru: Karnataka 304 (Anshul Kamboj 4/32, Anuj Thakral 4/68) vs Haryana 232/5 (Ankit Kumar 118).
Group D: Saurashtra eye top spot, TN breathe easy
At Rajkot, 18 wickets fell in a day as Saurashtra were in a strong position to not just win with a bonus point but also grab the top spot. Having resumed their day at 361/3, Saurashtra lost their remaining seven wickets for just 113 as Cheteshwar Pujara was dismissed for 99. But a total of 474 was more than enough for their bowlers, who wasted no time to bowl out Assam for 164 in the first innings and enforce follow-on. Unless TN pull of a remarkable chase, Saurashtra will end up as group toppers.
At Jamshedpur, table toppers TN who were looking at the possibility of an exit, managed to rescue themselves. Having conceded a 79-run lead on Day 1, TN bowlers did well to restrict Jharkhand to 154 with R Sai Kishore taking five wickets and Ajith Ram picking up four. Set a target of 234 on a turning track, TN ended Day 2 at 137/5, still 97 runs away from sealing the top spot. If they lose, TN will have to settle for the second spot which will mean, they have to face Vidarbha in the quarterfinals away from home.
TN had to thank Chhattisgarh as well, who shut the door on Chandigarh. Having restricted Chandigarh to 283, Chhattisgarh have managed to take the first innings lead as they were placed 310/4 at stumps. Needing a win with a bonus point, Chandigarh are now in a helpless situation.Story continues below this ad
Brief scores: At Rajkot: Saurashtra 474 (Cheteshwar Pujara 99, Samar Gajjar 60; Mukhtar Hussain 3/50) vs Assam 164 (Riyan Parag 51, Mukhtar Hussain 46 n.o; Dharamendrasinh Jadeja 4/61) & 67/1.
At Jamshedpur: Jharkhand 185 & 154 (Utkarsh Singh 35, R Sai Kishore 5/43, S Ajith Ram 4/30) vs Tamil Nadu 106/9 & 137/5 (Mohamed Ali 44; Manishi 3/36).