Report

Rajasthan win to enter the semi-finals

A summary of play in the latest round of the Ranji Trophy Plate Group

Cricinfo staff
29-Dec-2005
Rajasthan 281 and 73 for 1 beat Assam 240 and 110 by 9 wickets
Scorecard
Rajasthan, having resumed the day needing 57 runs to win, knocked the required runs for the loss of Gagan Khoda's wicket to defeat Assam on their way to the semi-finals. Ajay Jadeja, the captain, had led them to a thrilling win in their last match and now with the easy win over Assam, Rajasthan have 10 points from five games.
Kerala 399 and 100 for 3 (Nair 51*) beat Jharkhand 189 and 309 (Manish Kumar 52*) by seven wickets
Scorecard
Set a target of 100 Kerala lost three wickets, thus losing the bonus point, enroute to a victory over Jharkhand at Palakkad. Kerala needed to win by 10 wickets to earn a bonus point which would have given them an outside chance of qualifying for the semi-finals- much would depend on the points that Madhya Pradesh would earn in their match against J&K- but the loss of Sadagopan Ramesh for a duck in the very first over meant that Kerala are now placed fourth. Manish Kumar's unbeaten half-century took Jharkhand past the 300-mark in their second innings before Sreekumar Nair guided Kerala home.
Saurashtra 439 and 9 for 0 beat Goa144 and 303 (Mullick 116) by 10 wickets
Scorecard
Saurashtra knocked off the required nine runs to register a big win after Swapnil Asnodkar's century enabled Goa to stave off an innings defeat at Rajkot. Asnodkar put up an 84-run partnership with Mandar Phadke for the fourth-wicket to help Goa erase the deficit and make Saurashtra bat again.
Jammu & Kashmir 314 and 109 for 8 (Pandey 5-32) trail Madhya Pradesh 310 (Bundela 140)
Scorecard
Sanjay Pandey's five-wicket haul rocked Jammu & Kashmir in their second innings after Devendra Bundela guided the tail enroute to a brilliant century to take Madhya Pradesh to 310, only 5 runs in arrears, in their first innings at Indore. Pandey's sensational burst has given Madhya Pradesh a chance to go to the top of the pool if they win. Bundela, overnight on 76, steered MP close to a first-innings lead but just fell short before Pandey took over to swing MP back into the match.
Himachal Pradesh 168 and 38 for 3 trail Orissa 512 for 3 (Mullick 202) by 322 runs
Scorecard
Pravanjan Mullick's unbeaten 202, his second double century, allowed Orissa to declare after a mammoth 528 for 7 before the bowlers left Himachal Pradesh reeling at 38 for 3 in their second innings, 322 runs in arrears, as Orissa gained complete control of the match by the end of the third day at Cuttack. Mullick, having resumed the day on 93, lifted Orissa, sitting pretty on top of the points table, from their overnight 312 for 3 to a commanding total. Owing to bad weather and problems in flight connectivity the match between Orissa and HP was postponed by a day.