Out of the 16 matches in this round, eight were already over by the third day. Only two had a bearing on the quarter-finals line-up. Here’s Wisden’s round-up of the final day of the last round of the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy.
In Vadodara, Baroda entered the day needing 307 runs with eight wickets in hand to reach the knockout stage from Group A. Anything other than that would have knocked them out since Jammu and Kashmir took a first-innings lead.
J & K’s Sahil Lotra breathed fire reducing Baroda from 43-2 to 109-5. Baroda skipper Krunal Pandya was the one to fall next as he was squared up by the off-spinner to have his stumps disturbed for a 23-ball 11. Lotra finished with a career-best 7-75, handing J & K an 182-run victory and quarter-final berth.
The other match that had a bearing on the quarter-final line-up was between Karnataka and Haryana. Karnataka started the day at 108-3 in their second innings. Devdutt Padikkal perished off an Anshul Kamboj delivery after matching his first innings score of 43. Karnataka lost two more wickets, slipping to 164-6. Then Smaran R scored 133* from No.5, taking Karnataka to 294-8 before the match ended in a draw. Kamboj took 3-40, finishing with match figures of 7-72.
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Haryana, having secured a first-innings lead, won the match, qualifying as the winner of Group C. Had Karnataka pulled off a win, Haryana would have still qualified as the second-placed team behind Kerala. In either case, it was a battle for position.
Services script history, pull off second highest succesful run-chase in tournament history
Services recorded the second-highest successful run-chase in Ranji Trophy history by gunning down Odisha’s 376-run target in Cuttack. The record is owned by Railways, who successfully overhauled Tripura’s 378-run target last year.
Openers Suraj Vashist (154*) and Shubham Rohilla (209*) piled on a 376-run stand, the second-highest stand in a successful fourth-innings chase in first-class cricket. The seven points took Services to fourth spot in the Group A standings, while Odisha finished sixth. Both missed on qualification, with J & K and Mumbai advancing from their groups.
How did the other India internationals fare?
Chasing 220 in the fourth innings in Nagpur, Hyderabad were folded for 161 against Vidarbha, courtesy of this season's highest wicket-taker Harsh Dubey's 6-57. Mohammed Siraj from No.10 went all guns blazing with 26 off 14 balls, including three fours and two sixes and was the last wicket to fall. Vidarbha finished on top of Group B with six wins from seven matches.
At Holkar Stadium in Indore, Uttar Pradesh ended their first innings just 59 runs short of Madhya Pradesh's 670-7. Madhya Pradesh were on 28-0 in their second innings when both teams settled for a draw. MP No.3 Rajat Patidar, who failed in their mammoth first-innings batting effort, didn't get the chance to bat.
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