Punjab qualify with innings win

Punjab 516 (Vohra 187, Nadeem 4-165) beat Jharkhand 216 (Nemat 81, Rajwinder 5-68, Gurkeerat 4-40) and 127 (Gurkeerat 4-59) (f/o) by an innings and 173 runs
Scorecard

Part-time offspinner Gurkeerat Singh finished with a match haul of eight wickets as Punjab progressed to the quarterfinals with victory by an innings and 173 runs over Jharkhand in Dhanbad. The result left Jharkhand on the brink of dropping back into Group C - along with fellow promoted side Services - with Haryana looking set to overtake them with at least first-innings points against Odisha.

Jharkhand started the day at 210 for 9 in their first innings, and were bowled out after adding six runs in two overs, Rajwinder Singh getting Samar Quadri stumped to bring up his five-wicket haul. Gurkeerat ended the innings with figures of 4 for 40, his best in first-class cricket.

Punjab, 300 ahead, enforced the follow-on and took only 34.1 overs to bowl Jharkhand out for 127. Opener Rameez Nemat, who made 81 in the first innings, was the only batsman to resist once again, and was ninth out for an 85-ball 48. The spinners took all ten wickets, with left-armer Rajwinder and legspinner Rahul Sharma grabbing three each and Gurkeerat taking three of the last four wickets to finish with match figures of 8 for 99.

Odisha 242 and 33 for 0 trail Haryana 626 for 4 dec (Dewan 273, Rana 157, Saini 102*) by 351 runs
Scorecard

Haryana were on the verge of ensuring another season in the top tier of the Ranji Trophy after taking a 384-run first-innings lead against Odisha in Bhubaneswar. Three points from this match will take Haryana off the foot of the table and move them above Jharkhand.

Opener Rahul Dewan, batting on 136 overnight, extended his score to 273 and his third-wicket partnership with Sachin Rana to 311, as Haryana declared on 626 for 4. At stumps, Odisha were 33 for 0 in their second innings.

Dewan faced 461 balls and struck 35 fours in bettering his previous best first-class score of 254*. Rana made 157 from 213 balls, with 14 fours and six sixes, and his dismissal brought to the crease wicketkeeper Nitin Saini, who kept Odisha under the cosh with an unbeaten 114-ball 102 that contained nine fours and five sixes. Saini put on 150 with Dewan for the fourth-wicket in just 182 balls.

Read the full report of Gujarat v Mumbai here: Gujarat need 108, Mumbai seven wickets

Read the full report of Delhi v Karnataka here: Karnataka eye another win on last day