Maharashtra enter second successive semi-final

Maharashtra entered the semi-finals for the second year in succession after Anupam Sanklecha's four-wicket haul, boosting his match-tally to eight, sank Andhra by 75 runs in Lahli.

Andhra's pursuit of 177 was dented by the seam trio of Sanklecha, Domnic Joseph and Shrikant Mundhe dismissing the top-four batsmen for under 60 runs, including the captain Mohammad Kaif. Left-arm seamer Samad Fallah got rid of Ricky Bhui and D Siva Kumar in quick succession and 80 for 6 became 101 all out as Sanklecha wiped out the tail.

Andhra's capitulation on a typically green pitch followed Maharashtra's acceleration in the morning, where they scored 51 runs in 10.3 overs before being bowled out.

Kedar Jadhav departed in the second ball of the day, but Rahul Tripathi, who had retired hurt on Tuesday, smashed 43 off 38 balls, and added 49 runs for the eighth wicket with Sanklecha to stretch Maharashtra's total to 223. Siva Kumar, the leading wicket-taker in the season so far, picked up six wickets and finished with 12 in the match.