After the 10-team Indian Premier League 2022 concluded on May 29, the action shifted back to the senior men’s domestic season. The second half of the split Ranji Trophy season, that was affected due to Covid-19, resumed on June 6 with all the quarterfinals taking place in Bengaluru.

While Uttar Pradesh beat a star-studded Karnataka, Mumbai dominated Uttarakhand to set up semi-final encounter at the Just Cricket Academy Ground, Bengaluru. Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh defeated Punjab and Jharkhand went down to Bengal’s mighty batting performance to meet each other in Alur.

On Saturday, Mumbai and Madhya Pradesh became the finalists that will play at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore from June 22.

Here’s a round-up of Day 5 of the Ranji Trophy semi-finals:

Mumbai vs Uttar Pradesh

Mumbai secured a draw against Uttar Pradesh at the Just Cricket Academy Ground in Alur on the final day of their semi-final to qualify for the final by virtue of a first-innings lead. At stumps on day five, they had a total lead of 746 runs. While Yashaswi Jaiswal hit his highest first-class score of 181 in the third innings, Armaan Jaffer also hit 127 off 259 balls. Shams Mulani (51*), who got back-to-back fifties, and Sarfaraz Khan, who scored an unbeaten 59, both made significant contributions as UP didn’t get a second innings with the bat.

Bengal vs Madhya Pradesh

Although heading into day five all four results were possible, Bengal were blown away by MP in the first session itself. While Anustup Majumdar (8) was dismissed in the first over, skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran (78) and Shahbaz Ahmed (22) put up a fight to keep Bengal in contention, but it was short-lived when Easwaran was dismissed by Kumar Kartikeya. Kartikeya continued from where he left off on day four and finished the match with a five-wicket haul, helping Madhya Pradesh reach the Ranji Trophy final for the first time in 23 years.