2016-17 Ranji Trophy, Quarter-Finals, Day 4, Round-up: Jharkhand through to the semis

Ishan Kishan was on fire in Jharkhand’s second innings after he was asked to open the batting

Jharkhand became the second team after Tamil Nadu to qualify for the semi-finals of the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy by beating Haryana by 5 wickets at the Motibaug cricket ground in Baroda. Former Indian under-19 skipper Ishan Kishan led the way for Jharkhand with a 61-ball 86 that included 9 balls to the fence and 6 over it.

Chasing 176 to win, Jharkhand were off to a great start as their openers Kishan and Anand Singh put on 95 runs for the first wicket before Sanjay Pahal got rid of Anand for 27. It didn’t keep Kishan from taking the attack to the opposition as he managed to keep the bowlers at bay. Jharkhand were cruising home before a small batting collapse saw Haryana bowlers picking up 4 quick wickets. Courtesy the start given by Ishan Kishan, Jharkhand crossed the line with 5 wickets in hand.

Also Read: 2016-17 Ranji Trophy: Tamil Nadu likely to miss the services of Murali Vijay and R Ashwin for the semis

Earlier in the day, Haryana were dismissed for 242 in their second innings after resuming day 4 from 146-2. Once again, it was Shahbaz Nadeem, who dented the opposition as he finished with figures of 4-78. He also crossed the 50-wicket mark for the second consecutive season.

In all likelihood, Jharkhand will face Gujarat in the semis as the Parthiv Patel-led outfit has put the game beyond Odisha’s reach by taking the lead beyond 500 with just a day left in their quarter-final match at the SMS stadium in Jaipur.

Resuming the day 4 from 246-3, Gujarat kept scoring runs as their opener SB Gohil remained unbeaten on 261 in Gujarat’s 514-8. Indian wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel was dismissed for 40 by Dhiraj Singh, who bowled his heart out and took 5-139.

Also read: TN thrash Karnataka by 7 wickets

The quarter-final match between Mumbai and Hyderabad at Raipur is set for a tense finish on day 5 with Mumbai being the favourites. Chasing 232 to win, Hyderabad were 121-7 when the play ended on day 4. Hyderabad kept losing wickets at regular intervals with Vijay Gohil being the best bowler for Mumbai with figures of 5-28. B Anirudh, who is batting on 40, holds the key for his side on the final day.

Mumbai had a batting collapse this morning as they were dismissed for 217 in their second innings after resuming the day from the overnight score of 102-3. Skipper Aditya Tare top-scored for the defending champions with a 100-ball 57 while Md Siraj was the wrecker-in-chief for Hyderabad as he picked 5-52 in the second innings.

Brief scores:

At Vadodara: Jharkhand 345 and 178-5 (Ishan Kishan 86, Sanjay Pahal 2-36, Y Chahal 2-39) beat Haryana 258 and 262 (CK Bishnoi 52, S Rohilla 43, Shahbaz Nadeem 4-78) by 5 wickets.

At Raipur: Hyderabad 280 and 121-7 (B Anirudh 40*, Vijay Gohil 5-28, Abhishek Nayar 2-27) vs Mumbai 294 and 217 (Aditya Tare 57, Siddesh Lad 46, Md Siraj 5-52)

At Jaipur: Gujarat 263 and 514-8 (SB Gohil 261*, Priyank Panchal 81, Dhiraj Singh 5-139) vs Odisha 199.