Jaiswal 181, Jaffer 127 as Mumbai take complete control of Ranji Trophy 2022 semi-final against UP

Yashasvi Jaiswal (181) continued his brilliant form in the Ranji Trophy 2022 knockouts, scoring his third consecutive hundred and second of the second semi-final against Uttar Pradesh.

Jaiswal and Arman Jaffer (127) featured in a mammoth second-wicket stand of 286 as Mumbai went to Stumps on Day 4 at 449 for 4 in their second innings. The batting side have amassed a massive lead of 662, all but confirming their place in the Ranji Trophy 2022 final.

Jaiswal and Jaffer, who were in their 30s at Stumps on Day 3, just batted on and on, frustrating the UP bowlers. Jaffer had joined Jaiswal in the 21st over of the innings when skipper Prithvi Shaw was dismissed for 64. The partnership was broken in the 107th over, which gives a fair idea of the kind of domination they exercised over the UP bowlers.

Having faced 259 balls, Jaffer perished to Shivam Mavi to give the opposition some respite. The Mumbai batter struck 15 fours and two sixes. Suved Parkar was next to go, caught and bowled by Prince Yadav for 22.

Jaiswal’s marathon innings also ended when he was caught off Yadav’s bowling. The in-form opener struck 23 fours and a six in his 372-ball knock. At Stumps on Day 4, Sarfaraz Khan was unbeaten on 23 and Shams Mulani on 10.

---

Kumar Kartikeya's strikes put MP on top in Ranji Trophy 2022 1st semi-final vs Bengal

Left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya put Madhya Pradesh in command on Day 4 of the Ranji Trophy 2022 first semi-final against Bengal in Alur.

After MP set Bengal a target of 350 for a place in the final, Kartikeya claimed 3 for 35 in 19 overs to leave the chasing side in tatters. Bengal ended Day 4 on 96 for 4, needing 254 for victory on Day 5 with six wickets in hand.

Kartikeya’s scalps included that of first-innings centurion Manoj Tiwary, who was dismissed for 7. The left-arm spinner got MP off to a sensational start by dismissing Abhishek Raman off the first ball of the innings. He also cleaned up keeper-batter Abishek Porel for 7.

At the other end, Saransh Jain trapped Sudip Kumar Gharami leg-before for 19. Bengal skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran kept the team’s faint hopes alive, remaining unbeaten on 52 off 104 at stumps.

Earlier, MP resumed their second innings on 163 for 2 and ended up posting 281. Rajat Patidar, who was unbeaten on 63 overnight, reached 79 before being trapped lbw by Shahbaz Ahmed.

Skipper Aditya Shrivastava, who resumed his innings on 34, carried on the fight for MP and scored 82 before being bowled by Pradipta Pramanik. Ahmed ran through the lower order to finish with figures of 5 for 79.