Vidarbha are in the final of the Ranji Trophy! They reach the final for the very first time! Seven for Rajneesh Gurbani and there are #scenes at the Eden Gardens. Emotional moment for the bowler, who is on his knees. He's being congratulated by everyone. It was a fullish ball outside off that the batsman tried to play at, takes the outside edge and into gully's hands.
Vidarbha vs Karnataka, 2nd Semi-final at Kolkata, Dec 17 2017 - Ball by Ball Commentary
RESULT
2nd Semi-final, Eden Gardens, December 17 - 21, 2017, Ranji Trophy
New
KNTKA 2nd Innings
Full commentary
10.50 am That's all from the second semi-final between Karnataka and Vidarbha. Don't forget to catch up on our match report, and post-match reactions to this historic game as the day progresses only on ESPNcricinfo. For now, though, it's Sreshth Shah, signing off. See you all at the final between Vidarbha and Delhi on the 29th of December from Indore. Bye bye!
Sooryanarayanan: "Rajneesh Gurbani. IPL team owners, remember the name.
Pankaj Morajkar: "Great match. Great commentary. I am from Mumbai, who are not going to be in the finals this year. But will vouch for Vidarbha as you always want an underdog to win. Congrats Vidarbha."
CHAITANYA HALGE: "spare a moment for Karun's epic hundred. That was the innings that kept Karnataka in the hunt and made the match stretch to four exciting innings. Gurbani MOM indeed, but Karun's efforts are special as well!"
10.45 am There we have it! After 13 epic sessions at the Eden Gardens, we finally have our second finalist. It was a Rajneesh Gurbani special that's taken Vidarbha to their maiden Ranji final, where they will face Delhi for the title of the country's best first-class team. Karnataka lost an early wicket today, but after that, the ninth-wicket partnership between Gopal and Mithun looked like they'd steal the win away from Vidarbha. But it was not to be, as Gurbani's two wickets (in the space of ten balls) snatched victory for the underdogs. What a wonderful encounter we witnessed today.
Nitesh Budhlani: "Being from Nagpur and see Vidharbha reaching the Finals is a great moment . Saw Faiz Fazal as our Junior College Team player .Never thought ,he would lead the vidharbha team to the Ranji Finals...Proud Moment!!"
Sumanth: "Oh God!! Why would you want to expose your No 11. for 6 full balls? Why Shreyas why?..... All it needed was for him to keep strike and finish the job!!. This is very disappointing from the young man....."
10.36 am Celebrations for the Vidarbha boys at the Eden Gardens. The teams shake their hands as captain Faiz Fazal leads Vidarbha out of the ground. What a topsy-turvy game this has been. Perfect advertisement for first-class cricket in India. Gurbani shows off his match-ball to the sparse crowd at the ground. Disappointed faces all around in the Karnataka camp. Gurbani is also, unsurprisingly, the Man of the Match for his game-haul of 12 wickets.
BHUSHAN: "Oh!! not again!!! Repeat of 2009/10 final where Karnataka lost by 7 runs.Nonetheless,good fight from Karnataka."
Pulkit Bhardwaj: "This is why we love cricket. Irrespective of who you support, this game had everything!"
59.1
W
Gurbani to Aravind, OUT
Sreenath Aravind c Wankhade b Gurbani 2 (6b 0x4 0x6 7m) SR: 33.33
end of over 593 runs
KNTKA: 192/9CRR: 3.25
Sreenath Aravind2 (5b)
Shreyas Gopal24 (56b 4x4)
Umesh Yadav 20-3-65-1
Rajneesh Gurbani 23-3-68-6
58.6
1
Umesh Yadav to Aravind, 1 run
short on middle and going down the leg side as the batsman flicks off his pads to fine leg. Gurbani the man in the deep who intercepts. Five to win. One wicket in hand.
Balaji: "Umpires standing there would be the one most tensed with this nail biting finish"
58.5
•
Umesh Yadav to Aravind, no run
pushed off the back foot, but only to point. A good length ball just outside off
58.4
1
Umesh Yadav to Gopal, 1 run
good length just outside off, taps at it with the bat's open face to deep backward point for a single. Seven needed
MJ: "@Venkat: Me too praying for a Vidarbha win.. BTW, it is a region in East of Maharashtra..!!"
58.3
1
Umesh Yadav to Aravind, 1 run
short on off stump but angling down the leg side, clipped off his hips to fine leg. Eight needed for Karnataka now
58.2
•
Umesh Yadav to Aravind, no run
full on off stump and angling into the left-hander's body. Firmly defended off the back foot to short cover. Full face of the bat offered
58.1
•
Umesh Yadav to Aravind, no run
Umesh around the wicket with two slips in place, short outside off and drives to punch away from his body, goes past the outside edge
The Ranji Trophy has seen only one tie, ever. We go back as far as 1945-46.
end of over 585 runs • 1 wicket
KNTKA: 189/9CRR: 3.25
Shreyas Gopal23 (55b 4x4)
Sreenath Aravind0 (0b)
Rajneesh Gurbani 23-3-68-6
Umesh Yadav 19-3-62-1
57.6
•
Gurbani to Gopal, no run
full just outside off, left alone by Gopal. The No. 11 will take strike
57.5
•
Gurbani to Gopal, no run
good length outside off and defended off the front foot. Flies away towards second slip, who dives to his left to stop the ball from leaking through
Venkat: "I dont even where Vidarbha is located in India but Still praying god for their win.." -- Vidarbha need one wicket to get to their maiden Ranji Final. Karnataka only nine runs away. What a game! A reminder: if it's a tie, then a coin toss will decide the Ranji finalist. That was Gurbani's sixth wicket (and 11th of the match) by the way
57.4
W
Gurbani to Mithun, OUT
and that's the ninth wicket! Full outside off and goes for the glory shot. Takes the top edge as he drives, and it's a skyer to deep point. What have you done, Mithun? He smacks his bat onto the ground as he walks out
Abhimanyu Mithun c Sarwate b Gurbani 33 (26b 5x4 0x6 43m) SR: 126.92
57.3
1
Gurbani to Gopal, 1 run
short on middle and angling into his body, worked off his hips to deep backward square. They need just nine runs more
Naresh Marothia: "They should try a slower one against Mithun."
57.2
•
Gurbani to Gopal, no run
full and slightly wide outside off, good shape off the surface. Shoulders his arms
Sampath kumar S: "Mithun is a player with lots of ability. Recently saw it in KPL as well where he singlehandedly won a crucial semifinal for his team. With 5 crucial wickets in the first innings and this innings, he is my Man of the match"
57.1
4
Gurbani to Gopal, FOUR runs
overpitched wide outside off, driven with ease past the fielder at cover and Gopal gets four more! Brings the target down to ten
end of over 574 runs
KNTKA: 184/8CRR: 3.22
Abhimanyu Mithun33 (25b 5x4)
Shreyas Gopal18 (50b 3x4)
Umesh Yadav 19-3-62-1
Rajneesh Gurbani 22-3-63-5
Sivaram G: "What a match this is turning out to be!! I would say that this is the Best Match this Ranji Season. Congrats to Both the Teams for their wonderful Play. Both the Teams are Winners, come what may. " -- Mithun getting some treatment from the Karnataka physio after that blow. These two have added 43 in 42 balls. Remarkable ninth-wicket partnership
56.6
•
Umesh Yadav to Mithun, no run
good length just outside off, tries to punch at it off the back foot, takes the inside edge and smacks him near his waist
56.5
4
Umesh Yadav to Mithun, FOUR runs
good length on off stump and beautifully lifted over the bowler's head. Offers the full face of the bat and it comes off the blade's sweet spot. No one at long on or long off, and that's another boundary. Only fourteen required
56.4
•
Umesh Yadav to Mithun, no run
mises the pull! Wayward short ball on middle and angling into his body. Tries to hoick this over the leg side but misses altogether
Ajitesh: "Even when he played for India, I always thought that Abhimanyu Mithun is a batsman masquerading as a bowler."
56.3
•
Umesh Yadav to Mithun, no run
good length on off stump, drops his pace slightly. Played with soft hands towards mid on once again
56.2
•
Umesh Yadav to Mithun, no run
short and wide outside off, the batsman pulls out the pull shot as the keeper does extremely well to jump and keep the ball inside his palm. Saves byes for certain
Vinay: "Terrific match this.. With all the attention on S Gopal, Mithun chipping away with some very valuable runs here! "
56.1
•
Umesh Yadav to Mithun, no run
short first up, on the off-stump line, defended off the back foot to mid on
Umesh returns
end of over 564 runs
KNTKA: 180/8CRR: 3.21
Shreyas Gopal18 (50b 3x4)
Abhimanyu Mithun29 (19b 4x4)
Rajneesh Gurbani 22-3-63-5
Aditya Sarwate 6-2-14-0
SamRoy: "@Sanket D Patil I realized India's first class cricket has improved quite a bit when Tripura (the weakest team in Ranji history) were able to compete a little bit vs Mumbai & Tamil Nadu. I thought they would be cleaned up below 100 every time."
Saurabh Rawal: "I have been around Vidarbha cricket for some time..played against R Sanjay, Rajneesh Gurbani etc.. It is a proud feeling that they are doing great.. really want Vidarbha to win.."
Edward Rodrigue: "I have been praying since yesterday for a Karnataka win. missing KL Rahul & Manish Pandey, "
55.6
•
Gurbani to Gopal, no run
back of a length just outside off, defended off the back foot to see the team through to drinks
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Ranji Trophy
Group A
| Team | M | W | L | D | PT | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KNTKA | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 0.479 |
| DELHI | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 27 | 0.333 |
| MAHA | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 0.084 |
| HYD | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 16 | -0.156 |
| RLYS | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 14 | -0.312 |
| UP | 6 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0.508 |
| ASSAM | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | -0.977 |
Group B
| Team | M | W | L | D | PT | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GUJ | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 34 | 0.097 |
| KER | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 31 | 0.636 |
| SAU | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 26 | 0.245 |
| J + K | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 9 | -0.077 |
| HRYNA | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 9 | -0.506 |
| JHK | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 8 | -0.049 |
| RAJ | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | -0.294 |