The defending champions Karnataka were knocked out of the race for the Ranji trophy playoffs on Friday, after they lost against Maharashtra in their final Group A encounter in Pune. Karnataka had started off badly in the match, conceding a first innings lead to Maharashtra, only managing to score 180 in response to the opposition's 212. Maharashtra batted far better in their second innings, setting Karnataka a steep 293 to clinch a place in the knock-outs. The defending champions put up a valiant fight but finished 53 runs short. The result meant that Karnataka finished at fifth place in Group A and out of the reckoning for a place in the playoffs. It also eliminated Delhi's faint hopes of making the cut.

In the north-east, Assam held on for a draw against Bengal in Guwahati in a result that ensured that both teams made it to the next round. Assam were always facing an uphill battle after Bengal put up a formidable 444/6 declared in the first innings. Assam were 1/4 at one stage in their first innings and never recovered from that, being bowled out for 143. Bengal enforced the follow-on in search of an outright win but a delay in the start of the final day meant that Assam managed to escape with a draw, finishing at 143/8.

In Group B, Punjab clinched a qualification for the second round after a comprehensive victory by 243 runs against Tamil Nadu in Dindigul. On another under-prepared wicket, Punjab managed to get to 206 in their first innings and then proceeded to bowl out Tamil Nadu for 68. After batting again and scoring 192, Punjab bowled Tamil Nadu out for just 69, thanks to a seven wicket haul from Harbhajan Singh.

Over in Mumbai, Gujarat will have no one to blame but themselves after conceding a first innings lead against Mumbai that subsequently put them out of the reckoning for the knockouts. Chasing a massive 531 from Mumbai, Gujarat came close but finished with 421. Though they finished level on points with Madhya Pradesh, MP progressed to the second stage over them because of a higher net run rate.

Other updates from the Ranji Trophy:

Group A

  • Rajasthan 51 and 231/8 beat Odisha 151 and 129 by two wickets in Jaipur. It was a stunning fightback by Rajasthan as they clawed back to win against Odisha after being bowled out for 51 in the first innings. After conceding a first innings lead, Rajasthan fought back to bowl Odisha out for 129 and then scored a tricky 231 to win.
  • Vidarbha 504/7 declared beat Haryana 241 and 232 by an innings and 31 runs at Nagpur. Vidarbha finished top of Group A after a fine all-round performance from Ravi Jangid who scored 110 and finished with a match haul of 11/103. He became the first cricketer in three seasons to achieve the double of a century and ten wickets in a match. 
  • Qualified from Group A: Vidarbha, Bengal, Assam

Group B

  • Madhya Pradesh 279 beat Andhra 56 and 214 by an innings and 9 runs in Indore. MP's dominating performance over Andhra helped to boost their net run rate over Gujarat's, which allowed them to squeeze through to the next round. Andhra were never in the game with MP's Ankit Sharma running through their batting in both their innings. 
  • Baroda 321 and 171/2 drew against Uttar Pradesh 524 in Greater Noida. Uttar Pradesh needed a win to reserve a place in the next round, but could not dismiss Baroda despite taking a first innings lead. 
  • Qualified from Group B: Mumbai, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh

Group C

  • Himachal Pradesh 163 and 24/4 defeated Kerala 103 and 83 by six wickets in Mallapuram. It was another two-day finish, with Kerala failing to get anywhere close to HP's first innings score in two innings combined. Himachal Pradesh slipped by losing four wickets, chasing a meagre 24, but managed to win. 
  • Services 512 beat Tripura 229 and 220 by an innings and 62 runs in Agartala. 
  • Saurashtra 497 beat Jammu & Kashmir 138 and 296 by an innings and 63 runs in Jammu. Saurashtra deservedly finished top of Group C after crushing J&K in a one-sided victory. 
  • Jharkhand 388/8 declared and 29/0 beat Hyderabad 143/9 and 267 by ten wickets in Hyderabad. Jharkhand became the third team from the East Zone to qualify for the knockouts after a double century from Saurabh Tiwary allowed them to put up a good score. 
  • Qualified from Group C: Saurashtra, Jharkhand