Ranji Trophy 2018/19: Saurashtra break all-time record and march to SF
Saurashtra progressed into the semi-finals of 2018/19 Ranji Trophy season by chasing down a massive target of 372 runs. Starting the final day on 195 for 2, opener Harvik Desai led the charge with a brilliant century. Cheteshwar Pujara and Sheldon Jackson added 136 unbeaten runs to secure a historic victory for Saurashtra.
Saurashtra's fourth-innings run-chase is the highest in the history of Ranji Trophy cricket. The previous best had been created by Assam when they chased 371 against Services in 2008/09.
Meanwhile, Vidarbha defeated Uttarakhand by an innings and 115 runs to reach the last four. Resuming on their overnight score of 152 for 5, they bowled out Uttarakhand for 159 runs in their second innings. Umesh Yadav and Aditya Sarwate took 5 wickets each.
Vidarbha will take on Kerala in the first semifinal while Saurashtra will face Karnataka in second semifinal. Both matches will begin on the 24th.
Vidarbha versus Uttarakhand (VCA Stadium, Nagpur)
Umesh Yadav and Aditya Sarwate wrecked Uttarakhand's batting lineup during the fifth day's play at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur. KV Kaushal was the only batsman who was able to cross the 50-mark. Vidarbha completed a comfortable innings victory to progress to the semi-finals.
Brief Scores: Vidarbha - 629 in 184 overs (Wasim Jaffer 206, Sanjay Ramaswamy 141, Wadkar 98, Sarwate 102, Dhanraj Sharma 3/101, Mayank Mishra 3/110, Dhapola 1/110) beat Uttarakhand - 355 in 108.4 overs (Avneesh Sudha 91, Saurabh Rawat 108, VS Panwar 67, Wakhare 2/46, Umesh Yadav 4/90, Rajneesh Gurbani 2/81) and 159 in 65.1 overs (KV Kaushal 76, Avneesh Sudha 28, Umesh Yadav 5/23, Aditya Sarwate 5/55) by an innings and 115 runs
Uttar Pradesh versus Saurashtra (Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee International Cricket Stadium, Lucknow)
Saurashtra secured a famous win over Uttar Pradesh by batting brilliantly during the final day. Harvik Desai set the tone with a splendid century before getting dismissed by Saurabh Kumar. Pujara and Jackson came together to deliver a famous victory.
Brief Scores: Saurashtra - 208 in 66.4 overs (Desai 84, Mankad 67, Shivam Mavi 3/40, Yash Dayal 4/55, Rajpoot 3/71) and 372 for 4 in 115.1 overs (Harvik Desai 116, Pujara 67*, Sheldon Jackson 73*, SS Patel 72, Shivam Mavi 1/90, Yash Dayal 1/73, Akshdeep Nath 1/17) beat Uttar Pradesh - 385 in 103.3 overs (Rinku Singh 150, Saurabh Kumar 55, Shivam Mavi 42, Priyam Garg 49, DA Jadeja 3/111, Unadkat 5/86) and 194 in 72.1 overs (Mohammad Saif 48, RS Rawat 37, Upendra Yadav 35, DA Jadeja 4/53, Sakariya 3/38, Undakat 2/34) by 6 wickets