Ranji Trophy: Mumbai clinch record chase, Kerala defend 116
The 40-time champions were guided by a fluent 74 not out from their 19-year-old opener Jay Bista.
Mumbai showed why they're so highly rated in domestic cricket, chasing down 280 to win their Group B encounter against Madhya Pradesh at Indore on Wednesday. Incidentally, this was their highest run-chase away from home and came after they were chasing the match for the most part. Madhya Pradesh had scored 240 in the first innings with Mumbai bundled out for 162. In the second innings, Madhya Pradesh scored 201. Mumbai were guided by a fluent 74 not out from their 19-year-old opener Jay Bista.
Away in the national capital, the Railways completed a dominating victory against Andhra, bowling the opposition out for 123 to win by 148 runs. Railways had bowled Andhra out for 114 in the first innings, after they had scored 182. In their second innings, Railways scored 204 before scuttling Andhra out in their second knock.
In Group C, Kerala showed great character to defend a meagre target of 116, bowling Saurashtra out for 69 to win a low-scoring contest by 45 runs. After Kerala scored 166 and Saurashtra 157 in their first innings, the home team collapsed for 105 in the second. However Kerala's left-arm spinner Karaparambil Mohnish turned it on picking up 5/46 to leave Saurashtra reeling.
Other updates from the Ranji Trophy:
Group A
- Delhi 301 and 22/0 (following on) trail Karnataka 542 by 219 runs at Hubli. Despite a fighting 75 from skipper Gautam Gambhir, Delhi failed to avoid the follow-on and were asked to bat again.
- Haryana 112 and 287/6 lead Rajasthan 279 by 120 runs at Lahli. Haryana put up a much better show in their second innings, with opener Nitin Saini leading the way with a well-constructed 146.
- Maharashtra 160/6 trail Assam 298 by 138 runs at Pune. Assam continued their good show in the Ranji Trophy this season, with keeper Arun Karthik and captain Gokul Sharma scoring a century and half-century respectively.
Group B
- Punjab 272 and 244/6 lead Uttar Pradesh 226 by 290 runs at Kanpur. It's shaping up to be an interesting match in Kanpur with Punjab just about holding the upper hand. Uttar Pradesh will be looking at a steep chase if they want to win this.
- Tamil Nadu v Gujarat at Tirunelveli – no play due to rains.
Group C
- Jammu & Kashmir 325/5 trail Goa 552/5 declared by 227 runs at Jammu. J&K replied to Goa's massive score with some steady, if not oustanding batting. Ian Dev Singh scored a breezy 115, but Jammu & Kashmir are still some way off avoiding the follow-on.
- Tripura 237 and 25/0 (following on) trail Hyderabad 548/5 declared by 286 runs. Tripura are staring at a massive innings defeat after a poor batting display in the first innings. Despite plenty of starts, none of the Tripura batsmen got going and they will need to play out of their skins to salvage something.