Ranji Trophy 2016-17 wrap: Mumbai beat Hyderabad to make semis
Defending champions Mumbai beat Hyderabad by 30 runs in Raipur to become the third side to enter the semifinals of Ranji Trophy 2016-17, after Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand.
The tide of the contest turned constantly over the course of 13 sessions. However, like several times in the past, Mumbai came up trumps in a pressure situation. After holding on to seize a 14-run lead in the first innings, Mumbai managed to break Hyderabad's momentum every time the latter took control. In chase of 232, Hyderabad had been reduced to 121 for 7, putting Mumbai on course to another semifinal appearance.
With 111 to get on the final day, overnight batsmen B Anirudh and CV Milind added 64 runs in the morning session to narrow the target to 47 and keep Hyderabad in the hunt to cause a massive upset. However, the veteran crisis man Abhishek Nayar came to Mumbai's rescue yet again by striking twice in a space to three balls to leave Hyderabad reeling at 185 for 9.
The last-wicket pair of Anirudh and Ravi Kiran played out six overs, adding 16 runs. Anirudh, who scored an unbeaten 84 runs, farmed the strike well, but couldn't help Hyderabad register an upset.
In a low-scoring encounter, the defending champions found several stars. Nayar bagged nine wickets, Vijay Gohil snared a fifer in the second innings, Aditya Tare struck two half-centuries and Siddesh Lad followed up on his first-innings century with a crucial 46 in the second.
Brief Scores: Mumbai 293 and 217 (Aditya Tare 57, Siddesh Lad 46; Md. Siraj 5-52, CV Milind 2-25) lead Hyderabad 280 and 201 (B Anirudh 84*, Tanmay Agarwal 29; Abhishek Nayar 5-40, Vijay Gohil 5-64) by 30 runs.
Gujarat vs Odisha, Jaipur
Samit Gohel carried his bat through to finish and ended unbeaten 359 as Gujarat became the fourth team to qualify for the Ranji Trophy 2016-17 semifinal on Tuesday (December 27) as their clash against Odisha ended in a draw. Resuming on 261, Gohel encountered few nervous moments early on. His partner, Hardik Patel, received a stinging blow on his arm and was forced to retire hurt early on in the day.
Jasprit Bumrah hung around even as Gohel opened his shoulders. He had a slice of luck after being dropped at cover off left-arm spinner, Dhiraj Singh, when he had reached 298. One run later, Bumrah was trapped in front by the same bowler.
Hardik though bravely came out to bat and Gohel soon reached the landmark, slapping a boundary through point. It was followed by exuberant celebrations, even as the whole Gujarat team stood up in loud applause. With Odisha having literally given up, Gohel milked the bowling to all parts of the ground, going past Maharashtra's Swapnil Gugale, who had made 351 against Delhi, earlier in the tournament. This is the highest score by an opener to have carried his bat.
With nothing more to play for, Odisha took the opportunity of batting practice, although they lost their captain, Govinda Poddar, cheaply. When stumps were drawn for the match, Odisha had reached 81 for 1.
Brief Scores: Gujarat 263 (Chirag Gandhi 81, Rush Kalaria 73, Basant Mohanty 5 for 68) and 641 (Samit Gohel 359*, Priyank Panchal 81) beat Odisha 199 (Suryakant Pradhan 47, Jasprit Bumrah 5 for 41) and 81/1. Gujarat go through on the basis of first-innings lead.
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