Ranji Trophy: Gujarat, Kerala Qualify For Quarterfinals, Tamil Nadu Knocked Out

Tamil Nadu ended it's campaign in this year's Ranji Trophy tournament by losing its final Group "C" match to Baroda by 102 runs on Tuesday. Requiring 233 for a win, the visiting team was all out for 130 in 65.5 overs on the final day. Baba Aparajith was the only one to offer resistance, scoring 60. For Baroda, Lukman Meriwala and all-rounder Swapnil K Singh took four wickets each. Tamil Nadu thus finished the Ranji season with 11 points from six games, having failed to even win a match. It was an abject surrender by the Tamil Nadu batsmen on the final day as none showed the inclination to fight.

Defending champions Gujarat thrashed Jharkhand by 10 wickets after left-arm spinner Hardik Patel starred with the ball with an impressive four-wicket haul to qualify for the quarterfinals as Group B toppers. Gujarat needed just 10 balls to chase down the fourth-innings target of 15 after Jharkhand imploded on the fourth and final morning with Hardik triggering the home side batting collapse. The 10-wicket bonus-point win ensured a top-of-the-table finish for Gujarat with 34 points from six matches.

Madhya Pradesh, which outclassed Odisha in another game at Indore by seven wickets, qualified for the quarterfinals along with Mumbai. MP's win knocked out Andhra Pradesh, which finished with 19 points.

In Rohtak, Kerala picked up an innings-and-eight-run win against Haryana to join Gujarat in the quarterfinals from Group B. Kerala were in the drivers seat after taking a 181-run first innings lead and having reduced to Haryana to 83 for 5 by the third evening. They needed just five wickets for a win on the fourth and final day today and they did that in style with seamer M D Nidheesh grabbing three wickets to earn Kerala a bonus-point win. Kerala finished second on the Group B table with 31 points, while Haryana's season ended with their fourth loss in six matches. This was the first time Kerala entered the quarterfinals since the introduction of the tier system in the Ranji Trophy format.

Delhi entered the Ranji Trophy knockouts as the second best team from Group A after their last league match against Hyderabad ended in a draw here on Tuesday. Delhi picked up three points from the game by virtue of taking the first innings lead at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Delhi will take on Madhya Pradesh in the quarterfinals, while Group A topper Karnataka will lock horns with Group C runners-up Mumbai in their last-eight clash.