A dominant Tamil Nadu kept one foot on the knock-out door with a commanding 209 run victory over Chandigarh in a group D match of the Ranji Trophy here on Sunday. Left-arm spinners Ajith Ram (4/89 in 19 overs) and R Sai Kishore (4/62 in 21 overs) shared bulk of spoils as Chandigarh were shot out for 193 in pursuit of an improbable 403 on the final day. Veteran Manan Vohra carried his bat through with an unbeaten 100 but eight of his batters failed to reach double digits.
Tamil Nadu now have 25 points from six games. In their final group match against Jharkhand in Jamshedpur, they will need at least one point to secure their qualification for the next stage of the National First-Class Championship.
Group D has presented some intriguing possibilities with an open-ended points table. Despite the defeat, Chandigarh remains in contention with 19 points and a final game against Chattisgarh in Raipur where they need to win outright (25) or with a bonus point (26) to remain in contention for knock-out stages.
In case they get a first innings lead (22 points), it could be curtains for them considering the quality of opposition in the last round for Tamil Nadu and Saurashtra.
Saurashtra, which beat Delhi in just one and half days are currently third in the table with 18 points and have the best chance of getting another seven on an under-prepared track at Rajkot where they will get Assam as an opposition.
In a situation where Tamil Nadu lose their match outright and Saurashtra win with bonus points, both will be on 25 points. It will then be decided on NRR as both TN and Saurashtra have two bonus point victories in league stages.
As far as Delhi (14 points) and Railways (17 points) are concerned, they both need bonus points in theory but that might not be enough in the end.
Bihar vs Uttar Pradesh
Left-arm spinner Shivam Sharma picked up five wickets as Uttar Pradesh bowled out Bihar for 236 to secure an innings and 119-run victory, their first in six games, in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match here on Sunday.
Needing 225 runs to force Uttar Pradesh to bat again, Bihar resumed their second innings at 130 for 5, hoping for a remarkable recovery to salvage a draw. However, they could manage only 106 more runs before being dismissed.
Uttar Pradesh, who had declared their first innings at a massive 603 for 2, put up a clinical bowling performance to finish off Bihar's innings with ease.
Overnight batters Ayush Loharuka and Sachin Kumar put up a dogged show in the first session, taking Bihar to 176 for 5 in 71 overs. But Shivam Sharma made the crucial breakthrough when he trapped Loharuka in front after lunch, triggering a collapse.
Sachin completed his half-century before being run out by Shivam Mavi, as Bihar slipped to 191 for 7. Sharma then took the wickets of Himanshu Singh (16) and Nawaz Khan (0) off successive deliveries in the 88th over, with skipper Veer Pratap Singh (29) being the last man dismissed.
With this win, Uttar Pradesh gained seven points, bringing their total to 13, and moved to fifth place in Group C. Haryana (26 points) are on top of the group, followed by Karnataka (19).
Meanwhile, Bihar, after suffering their fifth loss, remain at the bottom of the table.
Uttar Pradesh will meet Madhya Pradesh, while Bihar next play Kerala in their final game.
Kerala vs Madhya Pradesh
Kerala fought valiantly to secure three points, thanks to their first-innings lead, after drawing their Group C match against Madhya Pradesh in Thiruvananthapuram.
Set a daunting target of 363 to win, Kerala began the final day at 28 for 1 but quickly found themselves in trouble, slipping to 47 for 5. However, a spirited lower-order fightback helped them finish at 268 for 8, saving the match and securing the points.
Mohammad Azharuddeen (68) and Jalaj Saxena (32) provided the initial resistance with a 74-run partnership before the latter was dismissed.
Azharuddeen then joined forces with Aditya Sarwate (80), and together they added 90 more runs, keeping Kerala in the hunt.
Azharuddeen's departure, clean bowled by pacer Kuldeep Sen (3/64), brought Baba Aparajith to the crease, and he, along with Sarwate, added another 37 runs.
Sarwate's dismissal by Kumar Kartikeya (3/106) didn't deter Aparajith, who, along with number 10 MD Nidheesh (4), held firm to salvage the draw.
With this result, Kerala accumulated 18 points, occupying third place, while Madhya Pradesh, with 10 points, remained near the bottom of the table.
Brief Scores
In Salem: Tamil Nadu 301 and 305/5. Chandigarh 204 and (target 403) 193 (Manan Vohra 100, Ajith Ram 4/89, R Sai Kishore 4/62). TN won by 209 runs. Points: TN 6. Chandigarh 0.
In Guwahati: Railways 250 and 124/5 (B Vivek Singh 52). Assam 216 ( Kunal Yadav 5/65, Himanshu Sangwan 4/59).
Match Drawn. Points: Railways 3. Assam 1.
In Jamshedpur: Chattisgarh 230 and 250 (Anuj Tiwary 66, Ashutosh Singh 64, Vikash Singh 4/30).
Jharkhand 376 and (target 105) 105/2 (Kumar Suraj 59 not out). Jharkhand won by 8 wickets.
Points: Jharkhand 6. Chattisgarh 0. PTI
In Patna: Bihar 248 & 236 in 90.4 overs (Sachin Kumar 50; Shivam Sharma 5/58) lost by an innings and 119 runs to Uttar Pradesh 603 for 2 declared.
In Thiruvananthapuram: Madhya Pradesh 160 & 369 for 8 declared in 101 overs drew with Kerala 167 and 268 for 8 in 104 overs (Mohammed Azharuddeen 68, Aditya Sarwate 80; Kuldeep Sen 3/64).
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