Ranji Trophy | Vidarbha, Saurashtra secure semi-final spots after last day finish
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Vidarbha took five overs on the final day to secure an innings and 115-run victory against Uttarakhand to enter the Ranji Trophy 2018-19 semi-final. Meanwhile, Harvik Desai's maiden first-class century helped Saurashtra pull off a record 372-run chase to set-up their semi-final date with Karnataka.
Vidarbha vs Uttarakhand
Brief scores: Uttarakhand 355 & 159 (Umesh Yadav 5-23) lost to Vidarbha 629 (Wasim Jaffer 206, Sanjay Ramaswamy 141) by an innings and 115 runs.
On the fifth day of the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals, defending champions Vidarbha needed only eight overs to secure a victory by an innings and 115 runs against Uttarakhand in order to book their place in the semi-finals. Uttarakhand resumed their innings on 152 for 5Â but failed to add any score to the total before losing their next wicket after Aditya Sarwate accounted for Malolan Rangarajan for 2. Umesh Yadav then managed to trap overnight batsman Saurabh Rawat for a 21-ball duck to reduce the Ranji Trophy debutants to 154 for 7, making the win a formality for them.
The dismissal of Rawat, who had scored a fighting century in the first innings, was the last nail in the coffin as the team lost their last five wickets for just seven runs. Umesh Yadav and Aditya Sarwate picked up five wickets each to bring a swift end to Uttarakhand's second innings for 159 and guided the team to the semi-finals and will now face Kerala in the semi-final game.Â
Uttar Pradesh vs Saurashtra
Brief scores: Uttar Pradesh 385 (Rinku Singh 150; Jaydev Unadkat 5-86) & 194 (Mohammad Saif 48; Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 4-53) lost to Saurashtra 208 (
History was created at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium as
The team got an early jolt when Kamlesh Makvana and Desai were dismissed in quick succession with 236 on the board. With 136 more needed at that stage, Uttar Pradesh could have worked the momentum in their favour, but the duo of Sheldon Jackson and Cheteshwar Pujara collaborated to frustrate the hosts. That support act to Desai coupled with Snell Patel’s 72 helped Saurashtra overcome the challenge to enter the semi-finals where they will meet Karnataka at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
