Iyer ton helps Mumbai hang on for draw
Punjab run out of steam, Kaushik Gandhi carries Tamil Nadu into the quarter-finals - a round-up of the final day action from the ninth round of Group A matches
ESPNcricinfo staff
10-Dec-2016
This was Shreyas Iyer's second century of the season • John Michel
Shreyas Iyer ended his season with a century as Mumbai put up 227 for 4 after being asked to follow on by Punjab at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot. Though they conceded first-innings points, Mumbai finished on top of the table, while Punjab missed out on a berth in the quarterfinals, finishing fourth with 21 points.
Mumbai had been bowled out 185 in reply to Punjab's 468 before ending the third day on 94 for 2 in their second innings. Iyer, who resumed on 59, struck 123 off 209 balls with 14 fours and a six. Mumbai's batsmen put up a stoic resistance. Punjab got their first breakthrough in the 28th over of the day when Vishal Dabholkar was trapped lbw by Siddarth Kaul for 16 off 117 balls. Iyer was caught behind off left-arm spinner Rajwinder Singh having spent over five and a half hours, after which Suryakumar Yadav (27* off 157) and captain Aditya Tare (22* off 115) prevented further inroads.
At the Palam Grounds in Delhi, Bengal took just 19 balls to take the final two Madhya Pradesh wickets and collect first-innings points. The day had begun with MP on 363 for 8, trailing Bengal by 112 in the first innings. Ankit Sharma added just four more to his overnight score to fall six short of a maiden first-class century, while Naman Ojha who was not out on 40, added just three more. Sayan Ghosh, the right-arm medium pacer, took a career-best 5 for 94 as MP were bowled out for 370.
Bengal's top-order came good in their second innings. Abhishek Raman (91) and Prasanjit Das (72) put on 155 for the first wicket. After the duo were dismissed, Manoj Tiwary, the Bengal captain, struck an unbeaten 50, and along with Abhimanyu Easwaran (33*), took Bengal to 261 for 2 before stumps were drawn. Bengal finished on fifth position with 21 points, while MP trailed them by a point on sixth.
A run glut between Tamil Nadu and Gujarat laboured to a draw at the KSCA Stadium in Belagavi. TN declared on 580 for 6 in their first innings in response to Gujarat's 307 before stumps were drawn. Though TN took first-innings points, both teams are through to the knockouts.
Overnight centurion Kaushik Gandhi not only went past 150 for the third time in the season, but also raised his maiden double century in first-class cricket. Vijay Shankar, who resumed on 35, also hit a century. Vijay retired hurt before he returned to complete his ton. Gandhi fell with the score on 496 when he was bowled by Hardik Patel having batted 538 balls for his 202. Vijay retired hurt a second time, having struck 102 with the help of 13 fours. B Aparajith stayed not out on 54.
Centuries from Shivam Chaudhary and Akshdeep Nath highlighted the final day's action in Nasik where Uttar Pradesh ended their campaign with first-innings points against Baroda.
The day began with UP on 117 for no loss in their second innings, after they had already taken a first-innings lead of 23. They struck an even 300 in just 73.1 overs on the final day to end on 417 for 3 - their second 400-plus total of the match. After a century from Chaudhary, Nath made his start count to finish unbeaten on 107. UP ended on seventh place with 13 points, while Baroda finished a rung below with 10 points.