Chandigarh, Chandigarh has strengthened its hold on the top of the Group D standings. It registered its third consecutive win by registering a decisive victory over Delhi by nine wickets. With this stellar performance, Chandigarh has taken 19 points from four matches, inching closer to a historic quarterfinal berth.
Starting the game on 46 without loss on the fourth day and needing 157 runs to reach the target of 203, Chandigarh won with confidence at a brisk run rate of 5.06. Shivam Bhambri emerged as the star, scoring a thrilling unbeaten century (100 not out off 130 balls), which included six skyscraping sixes. His performance also saw him surpass teammate and leftarm spinner Nishank Birla, who took 12 wickets in the match, to receive the Player of the Match award.
Bhambri's aggressive strokeplay, especially against the Delhi spinners, dominated the morning. His six over midon off Hrithik Shaukeen not only sealed his century but also showcased Chandigarh's fearless attitude. Captain Manan Vohra, who has been a consistent presence since Chandigarh's entry into firstclass cricket in 2019, was at the other end, scoring 215 runs in seven innings this season.
After narrowly avoiding relegation last season, Chandigarh's revival has been remarkable. After the opening round defeat to Railways, they are now set to face Saurashtra and are heading towards a possible quarterfinal spot.
Mumbai defeated Odisha by an innings and 103 runs
Mumbai: Shams Mulani's persistence paid off as he took two consecutive fivewicket hauls as Mumbai registered a thumping win by an innings and 103 runs over Odisha. The win gave the defending champions an important bonus point in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group A clash at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy ground.
After waiting 21 innings for his 15th fivewicket haul in firstclass cricket, Mulani's success laid the foundation for Mumbai's dominance. On the fourth day, Odisha started play with five wickets remaining, but within 119 minutes, Mulani's brilliant performance of 571 destroyed the lower order. Mumbai secured the bonus point with their big innings win, strengthening their position after an inconsistent start to the season.
Odisha's Karthik Biswal (45 not out off 77 balls) along with the lower order batsmen scored important runs. He displayed his technique, facing Mumbai spinners Mulani and Himanshu Singh with maturity and hitting several fours off leftarm fast bowler Royston Dias.
However, the day belonged to Mulani. He made an immediate impact and trapped Aashirwad Swain (51), who had just scored his halfcentury, LBW on the very first ball of the day. Thereafter, Mulani and Singh bowled in tandem and troubled the Odisha batsmen with patience. Soon after Mulani took his 10th wicket of the match, taking two wickets in four balls, dismissing Harshit Rathore and Suryakant Pradhan.
The last wicket partnership between Biswal and Sunil Raul maintained this inevitable situation for almost 50 minutes, until Singh breached Raul's defense to ensure a stunning victory for Mumbai.
Draw ends Hyderabad vs Rajasthan
Jaipur:K. Himteja's maiden firstclass century ensured a safe draw for Hyderabad against Rajasthan in their Elite Group B match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. With this, Rajasthan secured three points on the basis of first innings lead and reached fourth position in Group B standings.
Starting the final day on 36 runs without loss, Hyderabad looked vulnerable initially, especially after early successes by Rajasthan bowlers. Tanmay Agarwal and Abhirath Reddy got off to a great start with Reddy hitting several fours. However, after Reddy's dismissal, Hyderabad needed stability, which was provided by the steady partnership between Tanmay and Himteja.
Both of them made an important partnership of 139 runs and dashed Rajasthan's hopes of victory. Playing restrained and consistently, Himteja completed his century by hitting 10 fours in 176 balls. Tanmay played an important inning of 79 runs before being dismissed by Kukna Ajay Singh. Hyderabad captain Rahul Singh played with confidence and hit two sixes and maintained the rhythm.
Hyderabad's lead was not a threat to Rajasthan, so soon after Himteja's century, both the teams played out a mutual draw, ending the match early. Moving forward, Hyderabad will host Andhra in the next round, while Rajasthan will visit Uttarakhand.
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Image Credit: KhasKhabar.