Ranji Trophy: UP beat Karnataka to qualify for semis; Mumbai, Bengal too move closer to last-four spot

BENGALURU: Uttar Pradesh defeated Karnataka by five wickets to qualify for the 2021-22 Ranji Trophy semifinals while Mumbai and Bengal also inched closer towards the last-four spot at the end of the third day's play of the ongoing tournament, here on Wednesday.

On the other hand, Madhya Pradesh also were in a strong position against Punjab at stumps on Day 3.

Karnataka vs Uttar Pradesh

Chasing a tricky target of 213 in quarterfinals, Uttar Pradesh captain Karan Sharma dropped anchor with a solid 93 not out after his team lost their openers with just 28 on the board.

Karan added 59 runs for the third wicket with Priyam Garg, who raced to his 60-ball 52. But three quick wickets saw UP slip to 114 for 5 with the target still 99 runs away. Prince Yadav then gave the required support to UP skipper, who switched gears as a tiring Karnataka attack lost its fizz and eventually lost the match.

Mumbai vs Uttarakhand

In another quarterfinals, 41-time champions Mumbai took a giant step towards the semifinals as they continued to put a hapless Uttarakhand under more pressure with their mammoth score.

Having bowled out their opponents for 114 in the first innings, Mumbai stretched their lead to a whopping 794 runs with Yashasvi Jaiswal becoming the third centurion of the game following hundreds for Suved Parkar (252) and Sarfaraz Khan (153) in the first dig.

Jaiswal put on 115 for the opening wicket with Prithvi Shaw (72 off 80) after Mumbai opted against enforcing the follow on despite picking up a 533-run lead. Aditya Tare then made merry with a 56-ball 57 before Jaiswal completed his century and subsequently got out for 103.

Arman Jaffer and Parkar then batted out seven overs before the close of play, offering no indication of an imminent declaration. Earlier in the day, Shams Mulani claimed a five-wicket haul to orchestrate Uttarakhand's batting capitulation, an Cricbuzz report said.

Bengal vs Jharkhand

Meanwhile, Bengal produced a rare moment of statistical quirk on the third day of their quarterfinal clash against Jharkhand after each of their top-nine batters (everyone who walked out to bat) went past 50.

It marked a record number of 50+ scores in an innings in first class with No 9 batter Akash Deep helping Bengal claim a piece of statistical history by smashing his way to an 18-ball 53. Before him, Bengal's total of 773/7 decl. included centuries for Sudip Gharami and Anustup Majumdar while Manoj Tiwary and Shahbaz Ahmed recorded a pair of 70s each.

In reply, Jharkhand offered no contest when it was their turn to bat, slipping to 139/5 before close of play.

Punjab vs Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh inched closer to making a semifinal place their own after another excellent display on the third day of their clash against Punjab.

Having moved into the lead late on Day 2, MP pulled clear by 178 runs in the first innings with Rajat Patidar scoring 85 and Akshat Raghuwanshi chipping in with a 69 to go with Shubham Sharma hundred on the second day. Even though Vinay Choudhary (5 for 83) triggered a collapse that saw MP lose their last five wickets for 15 runs, the lead had swelled enough to keep Punjab at bay.

In reply, Punjab slipped to 120/5 with Kumar Kartikeya claiming four of those wickets to fall. Shubman Gill had a second failure in the game, hitting three fours and a six in his 13-ball 19 before falling. IANS

Also Read: Karnataka vs UP hang in balance; Bengal, Mumbai continue their domination in Ranji Trophy

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