Ranji Trophy 2018/19: Vidarbha and UP in commanding position; Kerala progress to SF

In what was an exciting day's action in the 2018/19 Ranji Trophy quarterfinals, defending champions Vidarbha have strengthened their position in the match against Uttarakhand. Wasim Jaffer's 206 and Sanjay Ramaswamy's 141 helped them reach a commanding position at 559 for 6.

Saurashtra have fought back well in the game against Uttar Pradesh. Starting the 3rd day on 170 for 7, Saurashtra were bowled out for 208 runs. Mohammad Saif was the top scorer for Uttar Pradesh in the 2nd innings with 48 runs. Dharmendrasinh Jadeja and Sakariya made life tough reducing hosts to 172 for 8.

The match between Karnataka and Rajasthan is headed towards a tight finish. Rajasthan were bowled out for 222 runs in their 2nd innings to set Karnataka the target of 184 runs to win. Robin Bist was the top scorer for Rajasthan with 44 runs. For Karnataka, S Gopal and K Gowtham were the most productive bowlers. In reply, Karnataka ended day 3 at 45 for 3 with Karun Nair still at the crease.

It was a historic day for Kerala as they progressed into the Ranji Trophy semi-finals for the first time by beating Gujarat by 113 runs. Needing 195 runs to win, Basil Thampi took 5 wickets while Sandeep Warrier took 4 wickets.

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Vidarbha vs Uttarakhand (VCA Stadium, Nagpur)

It was a great day's play for Vidarbha as they posted 559 for 6 with a big lead of 204 runs. Wasim Jaffer and Ramaswamy added 304 runs for the 2nd wicket. They lost 3 quick wickets before the two aforementioned batsmen added 68 runs. For Uttarakhand, Mayank Mishra and Dhanraj Sharma took 2 wickets each.

Brief Scores: Vidarbha - 559 for 6 in 159 overs (Wasim Jaffer 206, Sanjay Ramaswamy 141, Wadkar 98, Sarwate 57*, Dhanraj Sharma 2/87, Mayank Mishra 2/101, Dhapola 1/89) lead Uttarakhand - 355 in 108.4 overs (Avneesh Sudha 91, Saurabh Rawat 108, VS Panwar 67, Wakhare 2/46, Umesh Yadav 4/90, Rajneesh Gurbani 2/81) by 204 runs

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Uttar Pradesh vs Saurashtra (Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee International Cricket Stadium, Lucknow)

Starting the 3rd day on 170 for 7, Prerak Mankad scored a half-century and was dismissed for well made 67. Uttar Pradesh took the lead of 177 runs. In their second innings, M Kaushik and RS Rawat added 34 runs for opening wicket.

RS Rawat and Mohammad Saif added 73 runs for the 2nd wicket before Dharmendrasinh Jadeja and Sakariya picked up key wickets to leave Uttar Pradesh at 172 for 8 with a lead of 349 runs.

Brief Scores: Uttar Pradesh - 385 in 103.3 overs (Rinku Singh 150, Saurabh Kumar 55, Shivam Mavi 42, Priyam Garg 49, DA Jadeja 3/111, Unadkat 5/86) and 172 for 8 in 66 overs (Mohammad Saif 48, RS Rawat 37, Upendra Yadav 27*, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 4/53, Sakariya 3/29) lead Saurashtra - 208 in 66.4 overs (Desai 84, Mankad 67, Shivam Mavi 3/40, Yash Dayal 4/55, Rajpoot 3/71) by 349 runs

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Karnataka vs Rajasthan (M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore)

The third day's play between Karnataka and Rajasthan saw the latter begin their second innings at 11/0. Gautam and Chetan Bist added 35 runs for opening wicket.

Bist and Rajasthan captain Mahipal Lomror steadied the innings with a 72-run stand for the 2nd wicket.

Karnataka reduced Rajasthan to 123 for 4 before lunch. After the lunch break, Robin Bist and Salman Khan added 63 runs for the 5th wicket. Shreyas Gopal and Krishnappa Gowtham dismissed Rajasthan for 222 runs to leave Karnataka with a target of 184 runs to win.

In Karnataka's second innings, they have lost three wickets already. But Karun Nair is still at the crease on 18. They still need 139 runs to win and qualify for the semi-finals.

Brief Scores: Rajasthan - 224 in 77.1 overs (Bishnoi 79, Lomror 50, A Mithun 3/48, K Gowtham 3/54) and 222 in 67.2 overs (Robin Bist 44, Lomror 42, K Gowtham 4/54, Shreyas Gopal 3/52, A Mithun 2/26); Karnataka - 263 in 87.4 overs (Vinay Kumar 83*, KV Siddharth 52, Rahul Chahar 5/93, Tanveer-ul-Haq 3/50) and 45 for 3 in 18 overs (Karun Nair 18*, Samarth 16, Aniket Chaduary 2/9)

Karnataka require 139 more runs to win.

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Gujarat vs Kerala (Krishnagiri Stadium, Waynard)

Kerala scripted history by reaching the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy after they beat Gujarat by 113 runs. Needing 195 runs to win, Gujarat were reduced to 18 for 4. Rahul Shah and Raval added 39 runs for the 5th wicket before the Kerala bowlers dismissed them for 81 runs.

Rahul Shah remained not out on 33 while Basil Thampi took 5 for 27 and Sandeep Warrier picked 4 wickets.

Brief Scores: Kerala - 185 in 39.3 overs (Basil Thampi 37, P Rahul 26, Gaja 4/57, Nagwaswalla 3/50) and 171 in 59 overs (S Joseph 56, Jalaj Saxena 44*, Axar Patel 3/40, Rush Kalaria 3/36) beat Gujarat - 162 in 51.4 overs (Parthiv Patel 43, Kalaria 36, Rujul Bhatt 14, Raval 17, Basil Thampi 3/61, Sandeep Warrier 4/42, Nidheesh 3/38) and 81 in 31.3 overs RV Shah 33*, Basil Thampi 5/27, Sandeep Warrier 4/30) by 113 runs