MP, Rajasthan make quarter-finals

A century by wicketkeeper Naman Ojha took Madhya Pradesh to the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals after they beat Andhra by nine wickets at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore. Andhra had given themselves a chance by setting MP 203 to win in the last innings, after making 313 in their second outing. But Ojha, who plays for the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL, and Mohnish Mishra dashed their hopes as they took MP to 204 in just 40.2 overs. Mishra made 75 off 83, while Ojha got to 102 off 114. Jalaj Saxena was the only MP wicket to fall, caught by Satyakumar Verma off the bowling of Duvvarapu Shivkumar. MP had finished second in their group, while Andhra had topped theirs. They will now play Karnataka in the quarter-finals in Indore.

Rajasthan will be joining MP in the Super League next year after sealing the first-innings lead against Maharashtra at the Golf Club Ground in Nasik. Rajasthan only needed three more wickets and finished the job within the first 12 overs of the last day. Maharashtra's Nikhil Paradkar went on the attack, scoring 54 runs in the day to finish with 104 not out. The problem for the hosts was only 15 runs came from the other end. Rajasthan legspinner Vivek Yadav took the last three wickets to finish with 4 for 63. Rajasthan then enjoyed some batting practice and their captain Hrishikesh Kanitkar reached an unbeaten century. Rajasthan will host Mumbai at Jaipur in the quarter-finals.