Baroda enter Ranji Trophy knockout

Baroda qualified for the knockout stages of the Ranji Trophy after drawing their final West Zone league match against Gujarat at the Sardar Patel (Gujarat) Stadium in Motera on January 1. The five points that accrued from the first innings lead took Baroda's tally to 19, close on the heels of Mumbai (21) and Maharashtra (20).

Resuming on the last day at 343/6 in reply to Gujarat's 298, Baroda lost two more wickets before skipper Nayan Mongia closed shutters after lunch at 488. Rakesh Patel was the first to depart, falling to his namesake and fellow seamer, L Patel for 27. He was replaced by another Patel, the offspinner Umang, who added 66 for the eighth wicket with Mongia. After Mongia was dismissed for 80 (132 balls, eight fours), Patel and Zaheer Khan proceeded to put together an enterprising stand of 48 in just over nine overs before the declaration came.

Gujarat limped to 114/4 from 54 overs in their second knock. Zaheer Khan trapped both openers leg before in a six over spell to take his match haul to six and Umang Patel chipped in with the other two scalps. The hosts, having needed an outright victory from this game to qualify, collected three points from the draw to take fourth spot in the group with 14 points, ahead of Saurashtra who finished at the bottom with six points.