Ranji Trophy 2024: Mumbai book semis berth on first-innings lead; Vidarbha beat Karnataka by 127 runs to reach last four
Mumbai and Vidarbha clinched the last two Ranji Trophy 2024 semifinal berths following the conclusion of their respective quarterfinals on Tuesday, February 27.
Mumbai advanced to the last-four due to their first-innings lead against Baroda in Quarterfinal 2 at the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy BKC in Mumbai. Meanwhile, Vidarbha registered an impressive 127-run win over Karnataka in Quarterfinal 1 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground in Nagpur.
Mumbai resumed their second innings on Day 5 against Baroda at 379-9, with Tanush Kotian unbeaten on 32 and Tushar Deshpande on 23. The duo went on to create history, becoming the first No. 10-11 pair in the Ranji Trophy to score hundreds.
They also became only the second No. 10-11 duo to score centuries in first-class cricket. The only previous instance was when Chandu Sarwate and Shute Banerjee did the same for India against Surrey at The Oval in 1946.
Speaking of the Mumbai vs Baroda Ranji Trophy 2024 clash, Kotian and Deshpande ended up featuring in a huge 232-run stand for the last wicket. Deshpande scored 123 off 129, hitting 10 fours and eight sixes.
He was the last man out in the Mumbai innings as the team finished on 569. Kotian, meanwhile, returned unbeaten on 120 off 129, slamming 10 fours and four sixes.
Set an improbable target of 606, Baroda finished on 121-3 after 30 overs as the game ended in a draw. Mumbai progressed to the semifinals after scoring 384 in their first innings, while Baroda had responded with 348.
Dubey, Sarwate star in Vidarbha’s Ranji Trophy 2024 quarterfinal win over Karnataka
In Quarterfinal 1 of the Ranji Trophy 2024, Vidarbha bowled out Karnataka for 243 on Day 5 after setting them a target of 371.
Karnataka resumed Day 5 at 103-1, with captain Mayank Agarwal on 61 and Aneesh KV on 1. They began proceedings with hope but fell way short in the end as Harsh Dubey (4-65) and Aditya Sarwate (4-78) came up with excellent bowling performances.
Karnataka needed a big hundred from Agarwal to get anywhere close to the target, but he fell for 70 to Sarwate. Aneesh KV was run out for 40, and the chasing side lost their way after that. Vijaykumar Vyshak (34) and Vidhwath Kaverappa (25) only delayed the inevitable.
Ranji Trophy 2024 semifinal line-up
Following the conclusion of the quarterfinals, below is the line-up for the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy 2024:
March 2-6: Vidarbha vs Madhya Pradesh, 1st semifinal (9:30 a.m. IST)
March 2-6: Mumbai vs Tamil Nadu, 2nd semifinal (9:30 a.m. IST)