Karnataka storm into Ranji Trophy quarterfinals with Padikkal’s century:Beat Punjab by 5 wickets; defending champion Vidarbha disqualified due to run rate

Thanks to captain Devdutt Padikkal’s century, Karnataka has secured a spot in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals. Against Punjab on Sunday, Padikkal scored an unbeaten 120 runs off 85 balls. On the other hand, defending champions Vidarbha defeated Uttar Pradesh by four wickets, but despite this, the team could not secure a place in the Ranji Trophy knockout stage. From Group-A, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand advanced to the quarterfinals based on a better net run rate. Vidarbha won by 4 wickets Chasing a target of 201 runs, Vidarbha resumed play on the third day from 91/4. On Sunday, the team won the match by scoring 202/6 runs in 58.2 overs. Aman Mokhade played a brilliant innings of 83 runs off 150 balls, which included 10 fours. Danish Malewar scored 54 runs off 89 balls. For Uttar Pradesh, Shivam Sharma took 4 wickets. Andhra Pradesh Vs Nagaland settle for a draw Andhra topped Group-A by drawing the last match against Nagaland. Nagaland scored 342 runs in the second innings, with wicketkeeper Chetan Bist scoring 100 runs in 181 balls and Nagaho Chishi scoring 79 runs. Chasing a target of 173 runs, Andhra batted cautiously and scored 64/4 in 8.3 overs to ensure a draw, which was enough for them to top the group. Jharkhand won by 4 wickets In a match played in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand defeated Odisha by four wickets to secure second place and qualify for the quarterfinals. Odisha scored 226 runs in their second innings, setting Jharkhand a target of 246 runs. Jharkhand won the match by scoring 249/6 in 71.3 overs. Sharandeep Singh (64), Robin Minz (63), and Anukul Roy (45) made significant contributions. Earlier, Anukul Roy had also taken 5 wickets. Chasing a target of 246 runs on the final day, half-centuries from Sharandeep Singh and Robin Minz provided a strong start. Later, a 43-run partnership between Aditya Singh and Anukul Roy helped Jharkhand secure a four-wicket victory. Tamil Nadu-Baroda match ends in draw Tamil Nadu and Baroda, who were already out of the knockout race, settled for a draw. Tamil Nadu scored 449 runs, with Vimal Kumar playing an innings of 182 runs.
In response, Baroda scored 124 runs without losing a wicket. Shivalik Sharma (59 not out) and Jyotsnil Singh (55 not out) remained at the crease. 250 runs scored in two sessions Karnataka needed to score 250 runs for victory against Punjab, with less than two sessions remaining. Following this, Devdutt Padikkal batted aggressively, hitting 6 fours and 5 sixes to secure the win. Karnataka achieved the target in just 27.5 overs, winning by 5 wickets. Mayank Agarwal also scored a half-century. Uttarakhand defeated Assam Uttarakhand’s Mayank Mishra took 6 wickets in the second innings, bagging a total of 9 wickets (for 122 runs) in the match. His bowling helped Uttarakhand defeat Assam by an innings and 42 runs, securing their spot in the quarterfinals. Assam could only gather 4 points throughout the group stage and will now move to the Plate Division. Kerala’s 9-wicket win vs Goa Kerala’s MD Nidheesh took five wickets against Goa, wrapping up their second innings. Kerala won the match by 9 wickets. Nidheesh dismissed both openers and later completed his five-wicket haul by taking the wicket of Samar Shravan Dubashi. Baroda’s Mahesh Pithiya registered figures of 6/118 in a drawn match against Tamil Nadu. He broke a 125-run opening partnership and a 144-run second-wicket partnership, but Baroda could not take a first-innings lead. Tamil Nadu finished in sixth place in the points table. Amandeep’s century Chhattisgarh’s Amandeep Khare scored an unbeaten 176 runs in a drawn match against Hyderabad. After trailing in the first innings and with no time to force a result, Chhattisgarh batted for the entire fourth day. Khare completed 150 runs after the tea break. Both teams have secured only one win each this season. Delhi captain Ayush Dosheja scored an unbeaten 159 runs against Mumbai. His innings included 11 fours and 2 sixes. Delhi added 201 runs on the final day and the match ended in a draw. Mumbai topped the group.