Ranji Trophy 2012-13, Round VI, Day 4

Latest scores (Scroll down for text updates)

25-Feb-2013

Latest scores
(Scroll down for text updates)

Group A
Result Punjab 580 (Mandeep 211, Amitoze 91, Ravi Inder 76) and 59 (Chavan 9-23) drew with Mumbai 485 (Rohit 203, Pawar 78, Nayar 51*, Gony 5-87) and 61 for 2
Result Railways 214 (Yadav 53) and 251 for 8 (Rawat 106, Madkaikar 52) drew with Madhya Pradesh 377 (Rameez 128, Rajan 69)

Result Gujarat 312 (Parthiv 92) and 105 for 2 (Merai 28*, Bhatt 8*) beat Rajasthan 294 (Kanitkar 100*, Dhurve 6-65) and 119 (Dhurve 8-31) by eight wickets

Result Saurashtra 209 (Jadeja 70, Saxena 5-17) and 333 for 8 dec (Jackson 111*, Saxena 6-133) beat Bengal 112 for 9 (Tiwary 55, Jadeja 4-48) and 160 for 9 (Jadeja 4-50) by 270 runs

Group B
Result Haryana 257 (Yadav 63) and 255 for 7 (Sunny 54) drew with Maharashtra 540 for 8 (Atitkar 190, Jadhav 109, Bawne 86)
Result Uttar Pradesh 548 for 8 dec (Dagar 116, Alam 100, Chawla 85, Kaif 85) and 175 for 3 dec (Raina 105*) drew with Vidarbha 308 for 9 (Badani 76) by 390 runs

Result Karnataka 192 (Binny 61, Awana 5-81) and 475 for 9 dec (Binny 85, Uthappa 81, Rahul 71, Pandey 61) beat Delhi 258 (Awana 74) and 250 by 159 runs

Group C

Result Services 473 (Yashpal 166*, Chatterjee 103) and 99 for 2 (Ansuhl 40*, Swain 8*) drew with Goa 381 (R Asnodkar 83, S Asnodkar 74, Shukla 78)

Result Himachal 316 for 5 (Dhawan 114*, Bhalaik 57*) drew with Assam 354 (P Das 90, Sinha 53)

4.50pm

Right, that's it then for round six of the Ranji Trophy. It's been an exhilarating round. Will leave you with a stat from Rajneesh Gupta, who tweets: The diff of 521 runs between Punjab's two innings (580 & 59) is the highest ever for a side in #RanjiTrophy where lower inns was complete.

See you all next week. Thanks for the company.

4.45pm

Here's Aakash Chopra on Rishi Dhawan, who is not only the leading wicket-taker this season, he also has three centuries. There will be those who will cavil that it has come in the weak Group C but it is a terrific performance nonetheless.

Rishi Dhawan scored his third century of the season to go with 35 wickets. What an all-rounder this kid is turning out to be! Well done...
— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) December 11, 2012

4.40pm It's all over. A draw at the Wankhede

That was thrilling stuff while it lasted, pity we couldn't get a few more overs of it. Punjab walk off with three points, Mumbai have to be content with one. A madcap day at the Wankhede, where Rohit Sharma's double-century initially seemed to have put Mumbai on course for a first-innings lead, before Manpreet Gony sparked a collapse that resulted in four wickets going down for one run. Once the first-innings was over, it was assumed the match would end in a drab draw,as so many Ranji matches do. Instead, Punjab who have been in red-hot form all season collapsed sensationally to the left-arm spin of Ankeet Chavan, and then Rohit and Nayar briefly gave the league leaders another fright.

4.37pm A quiet sixth over there, Mumbai get only two off it, and they are now 61/2.

4.35pm Mumbai lose their second wicket as Aditya Tare is dismissed, caught by Harbhajan at mid-on. Mumbai 59/2 in five overs.

4.30pm Aditya Tare is the new batsman. Mumbai aren't giving up on this chase yet. Tare starts with a boundary off the season's third highest wicket-taker Sandeep Sharma.

Rohit Sharma dismissed: caught at long-on, Mumbai need 106 from 42 balls.

3.5 single, Mum 49/0.

3.4 FOUR, Nayar moves to 19, Mum 48/0

3.3 single, Mumbai 44/0

3.2 dot ball.

3.1 Single off the next ball. 43 for 0. Mumbai 42 for 0 in 3 overs. Rohit 27 off 17, with three sixes.

4.20pm

Mumbai are 25/0 in 2.3 overs. Nayar 13 off 9. Rohit 11 off 5.

Make that 35/0 in 2.5 overs. Second six for Rohit, who is now 21 off 7. Nayar 14 off 10.

4.15pm

Mumbai are 17 for 0 after 2 overs.. Rohit Sharma has hit a six in his 5-ball 11. Punjab have pushed their fielders to the deep.

4.05pm

Mumbai have sent in Abhishek Nayar and Rohit Sharma as openers.

Most games over in this round. Railways have managed to hang on for a draw against MP. Uttar Pradesh take three points after the first-innings lead against Vidarbha. They declared the match soon after Raina's century.

In Group C, both Assam and Himachal get one point each as even the first innings couldn't be completed in Guwahati. Plenty of overs lost in that match due to bad light. In the other game, Services get three points against Goa, after taking the first-innings lead.

3.55pm Punjab 59 all out

Ankeet Chavan is having the day of his cricketing life. 9 for 23! The target is 156 in 11 overs. Might not be possible for a win, but what a scare Punjab have been given. The batting line-up that has repeatedly piled on massive scores all season has been brought down to earth.

3.38pm - The great Mumbai charge continues Ankeet Chavan now has seven wickets, and Punjab are eight wickets down. The game is on like it has never been on.

3.36pm - Karnataka win Another minute, another wicket. Karnataka have secured much-needed six points by beating Delhi.

Awana c Rahul b Vinay 6 (13b) FOW 250 for 10. Karnataka won by 159 runs. Karnataka have wrapped it up by 159 runs! Awana makes room and upper cuts straight to Rahul at third man.

3.35pm - Karnataka edge closer This from Kanishkaa B at Chinnaswamy Stadium: "Sumit Narwal, who was batting like he was going for the target, top edges to fine leg. Uthappa runs forward, times his dive just right and takes it falling forward. Round of applause from the press box. Karnataka just a wicket away. Narwal c Uthappa b Vinay 41 (32b) FOW 250 for 9 in 81.2 ov"

3.25pmLate slip from Railways

After fighting it out for most of the day, Mahesh Rawat and Madkaikar have both been dismissed. They are now effectively 55 for 7 with 23 overs to go. They will want for 10-15 more overs to secure one point

3.15pm Sensational scenes at Wankhede

Punjab, the most consistent batting unit in the country this season, have disintegrated to 30 for 6. The lead is now 125, and there are 24 overs left in the day. Still time for Mumbai to pull off what will be the most electrifying win of the season. Left-arm spinner Ankeet Chavan showing why he is keeping Iqbal Abdulla and Harmeet Singh out of the team, with figures of 6-0-12-5.

3.05pm

Kanishkaa says:

"Karnataka piling on the pressure here. Two silly points, men close to the bat. Spin at the other end (Appanna)."

And a minute late, he adds:

Karnataka edging closer and closer! Success for the spinner Appanna for a change. Bisht tries to angle one to third man and edges to Pandey at slip. Pandey in the thick of things.Puneet Bisht c Pandey b Appanna 2 (33b) FOW 209 for 8 in 75.6 ov. Awana at the crease. Karnataka wouldn't have forgotten him.

3.00pm Gujarat win by eight wickets

After five draws in a row, Gujarat get their first win of the season and jump up to 15 points, level with Saurashtra in second place. Gujarat lost only two wickets and needed little over 25 overs to chase down the target of 102. Rajasthan remain at the bottom of the table with five points, hardly the performance expected of two-time defending champions.

2.55pm Delhi lose one more

K man says:

"Delhi have lost their seventh! Inspiring bit of fielding. Very sharp catch at silly point by Kunal Kapoor off Binny. Barely had time to react and Kunal shows off his reflexes. Bhatia c Kapoor b Binny 63 (122b) FOW 203 for 7."

2.45pm Rishi Dhawan nears another century

Rishi Dhawan, the Himachal allrounder, is having an outstanding couple of months. He is closing in on his third century of the season - second highest for Himachal - and he also has 32 wickets to top his side's charts. Himachal are now 90 runs behind Assam's first-innings score of 354.

PS: The Ranji blog is the currently the second-most visited page on Cricinfo.

2.35pm

Amit Mishra played a crucial hand in the second-innings when Haryana beat Delhi in the previous round, and he will have to do something similar today as Haryana are six down and still lagging by 70 runs against Maharashtra.

2.30pm

Tea at Chinnaswamy, Delhi still hanging on. Kanishkaa says: "At tea, Delhi are 201 for 6 in 71 overs. Bhatia 65*, Bisht 1*. Delhi need a further 209 in minimum 32 overs. Karnataka need four more wickets. The well-set Bhatia stands in their way. Can Delhi hang on? Watch this space as we enter the final hours of this match."

2.25pm Raina closing in on century

A nice average-booster of an innings from Suresh Raina, who has now reached 91*, easily his highest score of the season. UP are 150 for 2, Mohammad Kaif has been dismissed for 42.

2.15pm Century for Mahesh Rawat

Railways inching towards safety through a defiant 141-run stand between Mahesh Rawat and PM Madkaikar. Rawat has reached his century, while Madkaikar is halfway there. MP would have begun the day thinking of a victory, but they have been made to toil for much of the day. MP might have to settle for three points.

2.05pm All happening at the Chinnaswamy

Kanishkaa:

"Bhatia reaches his fifty! He’s on 53 off 106 balls, with nine fours and a six. Sharath bowls a low full toss on the pads, a gift, and he flicks it to fine leg for a boundary. Fighting partnership at Chinnaswamy."

And more from K: "Manhas goes off a top edge would you believe it? Quite an anticlimax after a near flawless knock. Another batsman misses century. He wanted to pull Binny but miscued it to square leg where Pandey back-pedalled and took the catch.

Manhas c Pandey b Binny 80 (168b) 11 fours, FOW 186 for 6 in 66.1 ov. Partnership 110 in 176 minutes in 226 balls."

1.55pm

Hot off the press from the K man:

Century partnership between Manhas and Bhatia. Off 213 balls – Manhas 56*, Bhatia 43*. Karnataka desperate to break this pair. Packed off side field as Binny bowls. 176 for 5. The new ball is nearly 15 overs away.

1.50pm Will Nayar ever fail?

He has another half-century, a totally contrasting innings to easy runs Raina is feasting on. Nayar's scores this season are: 107*, 0, 105, 64, 62, 73*, and now 51*. Mumbai are now 484 for 9, and the last-wicket pair have added 52 runs.

Ah well, seemed to have jinxed him there. Two minutes after I build up Nayar, DF sends this: "The resistance is over. Abhishek Nayar falls to a brilliant one-handed catch at slip off Harbhajan Singh."

1.45pm Half-century for Raina

Suresh Raina is unbeaten on 64, some of the most pressure-free first-class runs available. Mohammad Kaif is keeping him company on 33. UP are 104 for 1.

1.40pm

Score at the Chinnaswamy: Delhi 171 for 5, Bhatia 41*, Manhas 53*

1.30pm

Mumbai showing the resilience their Ranji team is famous for, they haven't given up despite that damaging Gony triple-strike. From 432 for 9, they have moved to 475 for 9.

ESPNcricinfo's Devashish Fuloria, who has gone to the Wankhede ahead of an eight-hour work shift starting at 4pm, sends this on sms:

"Last wicket giving a bit of pain to Punjab. One of their fielders has gone down with a bad injury at the boundary too."

1.20pm

Delhi keeping Karnataka at bay. Here's K:

"Karnataka players getting more vocal. Words of encouragement from the dug out. Vinay bowls a probing over to Manhas. You can sense the urgency here for a wicket as the partnership grows. And as I write, Manhas clips one away past midwicket."

1.15pm Rajasthan rolled over for 119

Fourteen wickets in the game for Gujarat left-arm spinner Rakesh Dhurve as he takes 8 for 31 in the second innings. Gujarat have raced to 14 for 0, and are 88 away from victory now.

1.00pm Railways take the lead

Railways have accomplished their first mission - of avoiding the innings defeat - against Madhya Pradesh, but still have to resist for at least a couple of hours to avoid a loss. When Railways flopped to 34 for 5 in the second innings, it seemed a matter of time before MP took six or seven points, but the seventh wicket pair of Rawat and Madkaikar have now added 97 runs. Railways ahead by four runs now.

12.45pm Rajasthan clueless against Dhurve

Left-arm spinner Rakesh Dhurve is having the game of his life, he now has seven in the innings and thirteen in the match as two-time defending champions Rajasthan look set to remain firmly at the bottom of the table. They have now tumbled to 105 for 9, and only have a lead of 87.

12.40pm

More from the K man:

"Few vociferous appeals already after lunch. Sharath the bowler. Manhas ducks, the ball doesn’t bounce as much, lobs off his arm towards slip. The whole of Karnataka thought it was glove. The fielder at cover was most animated. Manhas fights on. 137 for 5."

12.30pm Some sad news coming through

Bhausaheb Nimbalkar, most famous for scoring an unbeaten 443 in the 1948-49 Ranji Trophy, died last night, two days ahead of his 93rd birthday. That 443 remains the highest Indian first-class score, and Nimbalkar narrowly missed out on beating Don Bradman's then world record score of 452. Read this cracking story to learn how Nimbalkar was denied.

12.20pm Rayudu replaces Tiwary

The T20 debate is over as the BCCI has just announced:

Manoj Tiwary has been ruled out of the AIRTEL T20 International Series against England, on account of a side strain. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has picked Ambati Rayudu as his replacement in the Indian team for the series.

Pravin Eswar (from the 10.55am update) will be happy to know that.

12.15pm Can Haryana get a draw?

They are the only team in the tournament to haven't drawn a game yet this season - their record so far is three losses and one win. They will be desperate to get the draw today, though. They still lag behind Maharashtra by 117 runs, and have six wickets in hand and two sessions to play out. Can their inconsistent (to put it very mildly) batting stand up to the challenge?

12.10pm Railways hanging on

The seventh-wicket stand between Mahesh Rawat and PM Madkaikar is now worth 67, and Railways are slowly wiping out the deficit. They are still 27 behind though, and only have four wickets to spare, so they aren't out of trouble by any means. MP still favourites for an outright win.

Noon Rajasthan slipping to defeat

Top stuff from Gujarat left-arm spinner Rakesh Dhurve, who now has 11 wickets in the match. Rajasthan are 99 for 7 and are yet again looking to Kanitkar to save them. The lead is only 81 though. This is Dhurve's first ten-wicket haul in his career: his first-innings figures were 45-21-65-6. Now he has 22-13-30-5.

11. 55pm Plenty of criticism for Raina

Our reader Rakesh Lenka says:

"Why UP haven't enforced the follow on??? this shows their negativity...we all know what is happening to Railways and some other teams also...4-4.5 hours of cricket,you never know...it's worth a risk for 3 more points....Raina and co should blame themselves rather than Dermot Reeve(Maharashtra Coach) whom he blamed for negative tactics against Maharashtra."

11.50am

After the first session, here's how it stands at the Chinnaswamy. Kanishkaa:

"At Lunch Delhi are 137 for 5 in 47 overs. Bhatia 25* (50b), Manhas 60* (108b). Partnership 61 runs in 110 balls. Manhas has lasted an entire session. Delhi lost two wickets this morning, their first in the first over. The period after lunch has favoured the batsmen over the last three days. Karnataka need five more wickets. Let’s see if the trend changes after lunch."

11.45am Mumbai collapse spectacularly

Manpreet Gony is the man of the moment as his strikes have reduced Mumbai from 427 for 4 to 428 for 8! Rohit is run out for 203, and Gony removes Dhawal Kulkarni (0), Ankeet Chavan (0) and Ajit Agarkar (0). Punjab showing why they are far and away the best team in the competition this season.

11.40am Manhas reaches fifty

Kanishkaa's latest:

"Mithun Manhas fights it out for Delhi with a half-century, he gets there with a boundary to deep square leg. Delhi are 130 for 5 with Manhas on 53 and Bhatia on 25."

11.35am

Our reader Rohit asks:

"Pending Good morning, all. Kaif, Jaffer, Rohit? Are we still only looking at the players already tried and discarded? Are there seriously no new players at all being thrown up by Ranji?"

11.30am UP take first-innings lead

Uttar Pradesh have secured three points for the first-innings after Vidarbha ended on 308 for 9, in replay to UP's 548 for 8 dec. Vidarbha captain Ranjit Paradkar didn't bat due to an injury he picked up while fielding. The rest of the match is likely to be batting practice for UP. In an interesting move, Suresh Raina has come out to open the batting, perhaps in an attempt to find some form.

11.15am Ahmedabad match comes alive

What had looked like a tame draw at the start of the day has become an interesting affair in Ahmedabad as Rajasthan have lost three early quick wickets. Ashok Menaria's lean run continues and he's dismissed for 12. Hirshikesh Kanitkar, who made a century in the first innings, and Dishant Yagnik are in the middle. Rajasthan are 73 for 5 an dlead by 45 runs.

11.05am Double century for Rohit

Mumbai keep on course to overhaul Punjab's huge first-innings score of 580, thanks chiefly to Rohit Sharma, who is now unbeaten on 202. the job's not yet done, though, and Mumbai still need 154 runs to draw level with Punjab. That is Rohit's fourth double-century in first-class cricket. His career average has gone up above 60 as well.

11.00am Saurashtra beat Bengal by 270 runs

Left-arm spinner Nayan Doshi takes the final two wickets to confirm the result. Saurashtra have moved up to 15 points now, still only little more than what the dominant Punjab have at the top of the table, but it keeps Saurashtra well and truly in the running for a place in the knockouts. Bengal have slumped to their third defeat of the season, and will be without Manoj Tiwary for the remaining matches.

After a job well done for Saurashtra, Ravindra Jadeja will dash off to Nagpur to join the Test squad, and will be hoping to make his debut against England day after tomorrow.

Our reader Binu:

"If Jadeja can add little flight and loop in his bowling with little more side on action ,he can be a good test bowler.He is having a very good stock ball the arm ball and add his batting skills,he can be a good test player.His fielding is a bonus."

10.55am The case for Rayudu

Our reader Pravin Eshwar writes in about a player who has consistently done well in the IPL:

"With all due respect to Mr. Kaif, i believe Ambati Rayudu should replace Manoj Tiwary in squad and play at No.05 in place of Rohit Sharma. He is tipped to be finisher and has required stroke play and composure. His talent can't be doubted. I request all you sincere Indian cricket fans to look at his performance in NZ recently and his Ranji record."

10.50am Who will take Tiwary's place?

Our reader Rakesh Lenka has these suggestions, and I'm sure you all will be upset to see there's no Kaif in the list:

"Manoj Tiwary's replacement in T20 squad will be one between these:Mithun Manhas,Mandeep Singh,Stuart Binny,Dinesh Karthik, Laxmi Ratan Shukla,Ambati Rayudu,Kedar jadhav,Jalaj saxena,Ashok Menaria."

10.40am Jadeja driving Saurashtra towards victory

Top-scorer in the first innings, then four wickets with the ball, a counterattacking half-century in the second innings, and now Jadeja has four wickets in the second as Saurashtra are two wickets away from victory over Bengal. The opener Rohan Bannerjee who resisted even as the rest of his colleagues fell cheaply, has been dismissed lbw by Jadeja. Bengal 160 for 7.

10.35am Another one down for Delhi

The K man sends in from Chinnaswamy:

Delhi have lost Vaibhav Rawal but not without controversy. KL Rahul took a brilliant catch diving to his right, one-handed at first slip, but there were doubts as to whether it carried. The fielder claimed it, Rawal wasn’t sure, the two umpires consulted and appeared to refer it to the third umpire. Rawal was adjudged out but looked very unhappy, so was his coach Vijay Dahiya. Vaibhav Rawal c Rahul b Sharath 13 (47b) FOW 76 for 5. Drinks came on the field but it took ages for Rawal to head back to the pavilion. I suspect we haven’t heard the last of this.

10.25am Bengal hurtling towards defeat

Ravindra Jadeja bowled one of the overnight batsmen, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, after which Laxmi Ratan Shukla smashed a 12-ball 35, including four fours and two sixes. The fun ended for him as left-arm spinner Nayan Doshi had him caught. Bengal are 131 for 5 (effectively 6, since Manoj Tiwary won't bat), and a long way away from both safety and victory.

10.20am

Our reader Sid says:

"Too early to say but can Rohit get a triple ton and get Mumbai the lead today? I am a Rohit sharma fan. PS. No offence meant for all Rohit haters, I know the count wl beat even kaif lovers... :P"

10.15am Play resumes in Guwahati

Bad light had delayed the start of play once again in Guwahati, where Himachal and Assam are locked in a first-innings battle. Himachal are 158 for 4, and still trail by 196 runs.

10.10am UP close in on first-innings lead

Uttar Pradesh have got the important wicket of Hemang Badani early, which means Vidarbha have only four wickets in hand and are still 286 runs in the arrears.

9.55am Umpire down at Chinnaswamy

Kanishkaa sends in:

"One of the umpires, RM Deshpande, is going off the field. Looking at his hand gestures, he is feeling giddy. The reserve umpire, SM Yousuf, takes his place. The fielders help him off. Wish him a speedy recovery."

9.45am Hiken Shah dismissed

Punjab have struck early on the final morning. Hiken Shah has been caught-behind for 54. Rohit Sharma still going strong on 171. And Mumbai fans needn't lose heart yet, as Abhishek Nayar has walked out. The man is in phenomenal form this Ranji season: 107*, 105*, 64, 62 and 73*. Mumbai 374/4.

9.35am The Kaif love continues

Barely five minutes after I type out the Tiwary news, here's our reader Shyam:

"Tiwary's replacement is very suited man MOHD KAIF. And after that Kaif should the successor of Dhoni in Indian team." Is Kaif the most popular Ranji cricketer around?

Well, at least one of our readers isn't convinced Kaif should be getting anywhere near the Indian team. Sandeep Ghosh: "All those clamouring for Kaif's inclusion in the national side need to be reminded that U.P. as a team has been performing well this season and almost all their batsmen including Kaif have scored heavily--Tanmay,Parvinder & even Chawla have got big hundreds,Mukul Dagar has got three centuries so far and Arish Alam has got two. Even Bhuvneswar at No.9 has scored a handful of runs.Only their captain Raina continues to come a cropper in innings after innings."

9.25am Not a good start for Delhi

Kanishkaa types this in, and for good measure, sends it on SMS as well:

"It took Karnataka just five balls to strike this morning. Vaibhav Rawal walks in. Mohit caught-behind by Gautam for 4 off 22 balls. It's 43/4."

9.15am
Greetings and salutations, final day of round six coming up, and plenty of interesting matches on. We've already had three outright results this round, and perhaps we could have four more today.

The bad news for Bengal, who are already struggling against Saurashtra, is that their best batsman Manoj Tiwary is injured and likely to be out for the entire Ranji season.

Ranji Trophy

Siddarth Ravindran is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo