Ranji Trophy: Sanju Samson Hits Ton For Kerala; Delhi Into Quarters

Sanju Samson continued his good form and struck a quickfire century as Kerala need another nine wickets on the final day of the play to register an outright win over Saurashtra in a Ranji Trophy Group B match, on Sunday. At stumps on the third day of the play today, Kerala reduced Saurashtra to 30 for one after declaring their second innings at 411 for six. Saurashtra still trail Kerala by 375 runs with nine wickets in hand and a full day's play remaining. Opener Avi Barot (6) was the lone wicket to fall for Saurashtra. Snell Patel (15 not out) and Robin Uthappa (8) was at the crease at the close of play.

Brief Scores:

Kerala: 225 & 411 for six in 92 overs (Sanju Samson 175, KB Arun Karthik 81; Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 4/153) Saurashtra: 232 & 30 for one in 15 overs (Snell Patel 15 not out, Robin Uthappa 8 not out; Sijomon Joseph 1/9).

- Navdeep, Vikas get Delhi into quater-final in group A-

Navdeep Saini's lion-hearted effort complemented by Vikas Mishra's disciplined bowling saw Delhi crush Maharashtra by an innings and 61 runs in a group A encounter to ensure quarter-final berth in the Ranji Trophy. Delhi now will play an inconsequential final away league encounter against Hyderabad having already ensured a last eight berth with 24 points from five games.

The other team that is set to qualify from this group is Karnataka (23 from 4 games till today) as none of the remaining states have any mathematical chance whatsoever.

In reply to Delhi's first innings score of 419, Maharashtra scored 99 and 259 in their two innings as the match ended on the third day itself. Delhi got 12 wickets on the day, with Rahul Tripathi's 78-ball-106 being the highlight of Maharashtra's otherwise disastrous outing.

Brief scores:

Delhi 419. Maharashtra 99 and (f/o) 259 (Rahul Tripathi 106, Navdeep Saini 4/57, Vikas Mishra 4/90) Delhi won by an innings and 61 runs. Points: Delhi 7. Maharashtra 0.

- Bengal inch closer to quarter-final berth with innings victory in group D -

Rookie medium pacer Ishan Porel grabbed his maiden five-wicket haul as Bengal inched closer towards quarter-final with an emphatic innings and 19 run win over Punjab in a Ranji Trophy group D encounter, on Sunday. Openers Abhishek Raman (155) and Abhimanyu Easwaran (117) propelled Bengal to 379 for 9 before declaring with a big lead of 232 runs.

Brief scores:

Punjab 147 and 213 in 56.1 overs (Gurkeerat Singh 57, Anmolpreet Singh 40, Ishan Porel 5/32) Bengal 1st Innings 379/9 decl (Abhishek Raman 155, Abhimanyu Easwaran 117). Bengal won by innings and 19 runs. Points: Bengal 7; Punjab 0.

- MP fights back after conceding lead to TN -

The Madhya Pradesh top-order held firm after conceding the first innings lead to keep Tamil Nadu at bay, reaching 142 for 1 at stumps on day three of the Ranji Trophy Group c match on Sunday. The visitors had earlier shrugged off the early loss of N Jagadeesan, who fell for 101, to secure a 62-run lead riding on a strokeful ton by V Yomahesh, his second this season after being recalled. Nadu finished with 326 in response to MP's first innings score of 264.

Opener Rajat Patidar, batting on 81 off 131 balls (12 fours and a six) and Shubham Sharma (41, 79 balls) saw off a tricky early spell from the Tamil Nadu bowlers K Vignesh and M Mohammed to build the innings.

By the end of the day the host had increased the lead to 80 runs.

Though Tamil Nadu captain Abhinav Mukund used six bowlers, Patidar and Sharma batted in a resolute manner to deny the rival any advantage.

Brief scores:

Madhya Pradesh 264 all out in 90.1 overs (Ankit Sharma 77, Ankit Dane 63, Ishwar Pandey 29, K Vignesh 4 for 32, M Mohammed 3 for 67) and 142 for 1 in 40 overs (Rajat Patidar 81 batting) vs Tamil Nadu 326 all out in 105.4 overs (N Jagadeesan 101, V Yomahesh 103 not out, M Mohammed 43, Ishwar Pandey 3 for 67, P Datey 3 for 55).