Ranji Trophy 2023-24, Round 4 Highlights: Uttar Pradesh win thriller against Mumbai; Narayan Jagadeesan notches up triple ton. Top five games from Round 4 of Ranji Trophy 2023-24.
The last round of the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 with some exciting results, gave a bright picture of how the teams shaped themselves going into the business end of the tournament.
Hyderabad, Baroda, Karnataka, Mumbai and Vidarbha retained their top position in the points table. Agni Chopra from Mizoram is the highest run-getter of the tournament so far with 767 runs in four games at an average of 95.88, while Mohit Jangra from the same side is the top wicket-taker so far with 33 wickets in four games.
Let’s scan the top five encounters with special performances.
Mumbai vs Uttar Pradesh: Nitish Rana’s comeback century hands Mumbai surprising defeat
Perhaps, Mumbai too didn’t expect this stunning defeat by two wickets in the hands of Uttar Pradesh, who on winning the toss invited hosts Mumbai to bat at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Ankit Rajpoot and Aaqib Khan’s three-wicket hauls each restricted Mumbai to 198, as only Shams Mulani fought hard for his 57-run knock. After a good start, UP found themselves in a spot of bother at 153/5, before Nitish Rana celebrated his comeback century with a 106 run knock to push them to 324.
During the second innings, it felt like Mumbai would roll under 100 runs when they were struggling at 86/6 before Shivam Dube managed a 173-run seventh-wicket partnership and notched up an aggressive 117-run knock. Chasing 195, UP was wrestling but Karan Sharma’s unbeaten 67-run knock took them home with two wickets in hand.
Brief Scores: UP 324 (Rana 106, Dube 3/32) & 195/8 (Jural 76, Kotian 5/58) beat MUM 198 (Mulani 57, Rajpoot 3/40) & 320 (Dube 117, Aaqib 4/58) by 2-wkts.
Read More: Ranji Trophy 2023-24: Delhi continue to struggle; Jagadeesan 245* gives TN first victory this season
Tamil Nadu vs Chandigarh: Jagadeesan’s record 321 knock gives them a huge innings victory
Narayan Jagadeesan’s 245* in the last game brought Tamil Nadu back to the winning ways. And he carried the purple patch even in the fourth round. Winning the toss at the SNR College Cricket Ground, Coimbatore, Chandigarh opted to bat first.
After a 32-run opening stand, the whole batting lineup fell like a pack of cards, as Sandeep Warrier and captain Sai Kishore picked up three wickets individually. For the hosts Tamil Nadu, opener Jagadeesan celebrated his 321-run knock, besides sharing a 233-run second wicket stand with Pradosh Paul, who too thumped a 105-run knock.
Jagadeesan also put up a 280-run third-wicket partnership with Baba Indrajith, who carried himself to a 123-run knock. In the end, Tamil Nadu declared on 610/4. Chandigarh could reach to only 206 in the second innings, shouldering on the unbeaten fifty from Ankit Kaushik, while Sai Kishore ended with 5/80 to register an innings and 293-run win.
Brief Scores: TN 610/4 dec (Jagadeesan 321. Indrajith 123, Arpit 2/96) beat CDG 111 (Mahajan 28, Warrier 3/28) & 206 (Kaushik 50*, Sai Kishore 5/80) by innings and 293 runs.
Jharkhand vs Vidarbha: Centuries from Taide and Shorey offer Vidarbha a 308-run victory
After a huge loss to Saurashtra in their previous game, Vidarbha made a great comeback against hosts Jharkhand. Winning the toss at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi, the home side opted to bowl first.
Atharva Taide and Akshay Wadkar’s half-centuries took Vidarbha to 204 in their first innings, as Sushant Mishra returned with 4/68. Jharkhand found themselves at 19/4, before being bundled out for just 150, as Aditya Sarwate captured four wickets.
The visitors recovered in the second innings, as the 265-run second wicket partnership where both Dhruv Shorey (113) and Taide (138) made centuries to propel them to 374/9. Jharkhand again had no answer before the pace bowling of Umesh Yadav (4/43), as they were demolished for just 120, gifting the victory to Vidarbha by 308 runs.
Brief Scores: VID 204 (Taide 59, Mishra 4/68) & 374/9 dec (Taide 138, Shorey 113, Nadeem 6/69) beat JHKD 150/9 dec (Suraj 57, Sarwate 4/22) & 120 (Supriyo 31, Umesh 4/43) by 308 runs.
Chhattisgarh vs Andhra: Hanuma Vihar’s 183-run knock gave Andhra consecutive victories
At the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur, hosts Chhattisgarh won the toss and decided to bowl first. Andhra was breathing fast at 41/3, when Hanuma Vihari (183) and captain Ricky Bhui (120) posted a 231-run stand for the fourth wicket, as both of them celebrated personal milestones to take them to 431. Medium pacer Ravi Kiran for the hosts ended with 7/75.
Two 54-run knocks from Sanjeet Desai and captain Amandeep Khare pushed the home side to 262, as the visitors enjoyed a healthy 169 runs. An aggressive batting in the second innings flew them to 150 in 20 overs when they declared. Only Eknath Kerkar (76) and Khare (67) stood out for them with half-centuries, as Chhattisgarh could only manage 193 in the second innings.
Andhra gained a 126-run victory to get up to the second position.
Brief Scores: AP 431 (Vihari 183. Bhui 120, Kiran 7/75) & 150/2 dec (Shinde 45, Ruikar 1/11) beat CG 262 (Amandeep 54, Prithvi 3/48) & 193 (Kerkar 76, Prasanth 3/21) by 126-runs.
Uttarakhand vs Delhi: Captain Himmat Singh delivered Delhi's first victory of the season with a 194-run knock
It was a nightmarish season so far for Delhi with two losses and one drawn result. It was a game that would have decided their fate for a demotion in the tournament. In Mohali, asked to bat first, they were bundled out for 143 and also conceded a 92-run deficit to Uttarakhand, who made 239 thanks to Aditya Tare’s 83.
At 11/5 with five ducks, Delhi took their eyes off the scorecard, before the 182-run sixth-wicket stand advanced them to 264/9, led by their captain Himmat Singh’s 194-run knock. Himanshu Chauhan’s 5/39 blew away Uttarakhand for 165, to give Delhi a narrow seven-run win.
Brief Scores: DEL 147 (Dhull 47, Negi 3/34) & 264/9 dec (Himmat 194, Dhapola 4/61) beat UTK 239 (Tare 83, Saini 4/57) & 165 (Rawat 63, Chauhan 5/39) by 7-runs.
Apart from these, Sandeep Pattnaik’s 150-run knock gave Odisha a huge 238-run win, while Karnataka edged past Tripura in a low-scoring encounter by 29 runs. The fifth and next round of the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 will begin from 2nd February 2024.
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