Mumbai piled up a massive 585-run first-innings lead and made early inroads against Meghalaya, while Jammu and Kashmir grabbed a crucial 205-run advantage against Baroda in their Group A Ranji Trophy matches on Friday. Mumbai skipper Ajinkya Rahane missed a century but maiden First-Class tons from Akash Anand (103) and Shams Mulani (100 not out), Siddhesh Lad’s 145 and fifties from Shardul Thakur (84) and Suryansh Shedge (61) powered the hosts to a massive 671 for seven declared in the first innings.

Meghalaya, who were shot out for 86 in the first innings, slipped to 27/2 at stumps on the second day with Thakur striking twice with the new ball, trailing by 558 runs as Mumbai took big strides towards a massive win to ensure qualification for the quarterfinals.

With a quarterfinal berth at stake, the defending champions opted for a no-risk approach by batting through the second day to push for an outright win.

The day, however, began on a disappointing note for the hosts when Rahane fell four runs short of his first century this season.

He edged one behind to Arpit Subhas off MD Nafees after being troubled on a few occasions.

Lad brought up his second century of the season, finishing with 145 off 250 balls with 17 fours and a six. Lad had himself to blame when he hit a innocuous delivery from Anish Charak (2/185) straight into the hands of Kishan Lyndoh at short midwicket.

“I never thought that I would be back playing for Mumbai again because we had won the Ranji Trophy last year and boys are doing really well. But I knew somewhere the opportunity will come and I have to be ready for that. Kudos to the support staff, they have really worked hard on me since June (last year),” Lad, who had left Mumbai for Goa earlier, told media after stumps.

“I had a talk with Omkar Salvi sir at the start of the season (as to) what my role will be, when will I get (an) opportunity? He made me ready for for this situation and I’m glad that it came off nice.” Lad said Meghalaya are a new team among the Elites in the Ranji Trophy and they will need time to find their feet.

“Yes, Meghalaya is a new team, they will take some time to get acclimatised to the teams which are playing since (many) years. They have the potential, but our coach and captain won’t let you take anyone lightly; you can’t take anyone lightly and you can’t take your place lightly in the team (as well),” he added.

The 196-run association between Rahane and Lad was followed by an 87-run stand between Lad and Anand for the fourth wicket and another 123 runs were added between Suryansh Shedge and Anand for the fifth wicket.

Thakur then produced a brutal 42-ball 84 with five sixes and nine fours while adding 156 runs for the seventh wicket from only 99 balls with Mulani.

Mumbai declared after Mulani scored his ton, reaching 100 not out from 86 balls.

In another Group A clash at Vadodara, J&K took control against Baroda, whom they had displaced from the top of the points table with a win over Mumbai last week.

J&K came up with a fine bowling display to dismiss Baroda for 166 and take an 80-run first-innings lead.

At stumps, J&K’s lead had swelled to 205 with opener Shubham Khajuria, who had earlier taken 3/47, reaching 67 not out off 115 balls.

In Cuttack, Odisha conceded a 19-run first-innings lead but reached 167 for three at stumps to be ahead by 148 runs against Services with Aashirwad Swain batting on 64.

In Solapur, Siddhesh Veer’s unbeaten 93 and Yash Kshirsagar’s 71 took Maharashtra to 235/3 against Tripura who were bowled out for 270 in the first innings.

Baroda vs Mumbai, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Semi-Final Live Streaming: Baroda will be squaring off against Mumbai in the first semi-final of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024 on Friday at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Baroda walked through a wall of fire in the group stage to qualify for the knockouts and that grit will be their primary weapon against an explosive Mumbai. Baroda have high-velocity T20 performers in Hardik and Krunal Pandya, still none of the Baroda players feature in the top-10 list in batting or bowling.

Mumbai, the 2022 champions, were largely untested in Group E and their first real test came against Vidarbha in the last eight match on Wednesday. Their batters led by Ajinkya Rahane carried the team past a 200-plus target with minimum fuss, but even in that victory Mumbai would not have missed the profligate ways of their bowlers.

When will the Baroda vs Mumbai, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Semi-Final match take place?

The Baroda vs Mumbai, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Semi-Final match will take place on Friday, December 13.

Where will the Baroda vs Mumbai, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Semi-Final match take place?

The Baroda vs Mumbai, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Semi-Final match will take place at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.

What time will the Baroda vs Mumbai, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Semi-Final match start?

The Baroda vs Mumbai, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Semi-Final match will start at 11:00 AM IST. The toss will take place at 10:30 AM.

Which TV channels will show the live telecast of the Baroda vs Mumbai, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Semi-Final match?

The Baroda vs Mumbai, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Semi-Final match will be not be broadcasted on TV.

Where to follow the live streaming of the Baroda vs Mumbai, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Semi-Final match?

The Baroda vs Mumbai, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Semi-Final match will be live streamed on the JioCinema app and website.

(All details are as per information provided by the broadcaster)

(With PTI Inputs)

Shreyas Gopal levelled with Amit Mishra to register the most hat-tricks by an Indian.© X (Twitter)

Hardik Pandya hit a quickfire 47 off just 23 balls, including 28 runs in a single over vs Tripura.© X (Twitter)

Left-arm spinner Ninad Rathva came up with career-best match figures as Baroda crushed Meghalaya by an innings and 261 runs in under two days to earn a bonus point in their Ranji Trophy Group A match Thursday. If day one belonged to off-spinner Mahesh Pithiya, who grabbed 6/25 to dismiss the opponents for just 103 runs, Rathva wreaked havoc in the second innings, returning figures of 6/28 as the opponents were bundled out for 78 in just 17.5 overs. Rathva, 25, recorded match figures of 7/59, his best in the 14 first-class game he has played so far, while Mahesh added three more wickets to his first-innings haul of six to also finish with his career-best match haul of 9/71.

On a wicket that assisted turn, Baroda pressed the two spinners into service immediately after completing their innings at 442 early on day two. With a massive first-innings lead of 339 runs, Baroda went for the kill and, to their delight, saw the rival batters falling like ninepins.

A total of four Meghalaya batters went for duck, while five had single-digit figures with the injured last batter unable to take the field.

Former Baroda player Arpit Bhatewara, who now plays for Meghalaya, fought a lonely battle before he was finally dismissed by Rathva for 46 off 48 balls.

Earlier, Baroda, commencing at their overnight score of 308 for 6, flayed the feeble Meghalaya attack before being dismissed for 442 in 71.3 overs.

Overnight batter Shashwat Rawat, who was batting on 90, completed his century before he was dismissed for 121 off just 128 balls as Baroda crossed the 400-run mark. Rathva played an unbeaten cameo of 33 (19 balls) as the hosts made a mockery of the Meghalaya attack.

Kumar Kushagra’s brisk ton takes Jharkhand to 356/9 vs Delhi

Promising wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra struck a breezy unbeaten 133 to steer Jharkhand to 356 for 9 on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Group D match against Delhi here on Thursday.

The 20-year-old Kushagra, who was bought by Delhi Capitals for Rs 7.2 crores but released early this month after playing just four matches in 2024 IPL, hit 14 boundaries and five sixes during his strokeful 166-ball unbeaten innings.

Courtesy Kushagra’s aggressive ton, Jharkhand added 220 runs for the loss of six wickets from 70 overs played on Day 2 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. The visitors had begun the day at 136 for 3.

Sharandeep Singh added just two runs to his overnight 64 to be the first Jharkhand batter to get out.

Coming out to bat at the fall of Sharandeep, Kushagra stitched 93 runs for the fifth wicket with captain Virat Singh (56 off 125 balls) to swell the visiting side’s total. He then shared another 59 runs with Manishi (14) for the eighth wicket to eventually take Jharkhand past the 350-run mark.

With just two days left in the match, Jharkhand have placed themselves in a strong position in the match.

For Delhi, Simarjeet Singh, Money Grewal and Sumit Mathur have so far taken two wickets apiece, while Siddhant Sharma and Ayush Badoni got a wicket each.

On Day 1 on Wednesday, Sharandeep scored a dogged half-century as Jharkhand batters were painstakingly slow in their approach.

They improved their run rate a bit on Thursday — above three per over.

Having lost to Chattisgarh in the last game, Delhi, in their final home game of the season, made wholesale changes under new skipper Ayush Badoni.

Brief Scores:

In Vadodara: Meghalaya 103 and 78 in 17.5 overs (Arpit Bhatewara 46; Mahesh Pithiya 3/46, Ninad Rathva 6/28) lost to Baroda 442 in 71.3 overs (Jyotsnil Singh 121, Shivalik Sharma 42, Mitesh Patel 51, Shashwat Rawat 121; Bijon Dey 3/123, Dippu Sangma 3/53) by an innings and 261 runs.

In Delhi: Jharkhand 1st Innings 356 for 9 in 125 overs (Sharandeep Singh 64, Kumar Kushagra 133 not out; Simarjeet Singh 2/43, Money Grewal 2/65, Sumit Mathur 2/52) vs Delhi.

In Cuttack: Maharashtra 162 and 78 for 3 in 27 overs (Sachin Dhas 38) vs Odisha 200 in 82.2 overs overs (Swastik Samal 116; Sandeep Pattnaik 41; Rajneesh Gurbani 3/38, Ramakrishna Ghosh 3/50). Maharashtra lead by 40 runs.

In Jammu: Tripura 165 and 170 for 7 in 46 overs (Jiwanjot Singh 45,Srinivas Sharath batting 39; Auqib Nabi 3/35) vs Jammu & Kashmir 175 in 57.4 overs (Shubham Khajuria 57; Manisankar Murasingh 5/68, Abhijit Sarkar 3/42). Tripura lead by 160 runs.

In Delhi: Services 240 in 81 overs (Mohit Ahlawat 76, Shubham Rohilla 56; Shardul Thakur 4/46, Mohit Avasthi 2/44) vs Mumbai 253 for 8 in 63 overs (Ayush Mhatre 116, Shreyas Iyer 47; Pulkit Narang 3/47). Muymbai lead by 13 runs.

Hardik Tamore delivered the goods with a fine 114 as Mumbai took control of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Baroda, taking an overall lead of 415 at stumps on the fourth day on Monday. Having obtained a slender lead of 36 runs in the first innings which might eventually send Mumbai into the semifinals provided this contest ends in a draw, the hosts drove home the advantage to get to a commanding position.

Baroda veteran Bhargav Bhatt followed his first-innings seven-wicket haul with a similar performance, returning 7/142 in the second essay but Mumbai held the upper hand.

A lot of credit has to go to Mumbai wicketkeeper-batter Tamore, who followed his laborious yet essential first-innings half-century with a ton in the second essay, especially when he was promoted to open.

Tamore formed vital stands through the fourth day’s play to keep the scoreboard ticking for Mumbai at the BKC Ground.

After adding 66 runs with Musheer Khan for the third wicket, Tamore put on 124 with Prithvi Shaw in just 157 balls for the fourth wicket.

Opener Shaw could only bat in the middle-order and he too was among runs, piling up a rapid 87 from 93 balls with 10 fours and two sixes which deflated the Baroda bowling attack.

Mumbai’s spin bowling all-rounder Shams Mulani chipped in with a vital 54, which came off 103 balls with 10 fours and a six, while putting on another 69 runs for the sixth wicket.

Having resumed the fourth day’s play at 21 for one and a mere 57 runs ahead, Mumbai needed a big effort with the bat but their key batters, especially skipper Ajinkya Rahane, disappointed again.

After losing their in-form opener Bhupen Lalwani (6) cheaply on the third evening, nightwatchman Mohit Avasthi perished for four runs.

Musheer made a fine start getting 33 with five fours but he too became a victim of Bhatt, who went on to claim the wickets of Shaw, Rahane, Mulani and Suryansh Shedge.

Rahane’s ordinary run this season continued with the India batter being cleaned up for a four-ball duck by Bhatt.

Rahane made three in the first innings.

India all-rounder Shardul Thakur, however, also could not trouble the scorers much as he was removed from the equation by India U-19 World Cup player Raj Limbani.

Towards the end of the day, Tanush Kotian (32 not out) and Tushar Deshpande (23 not out) did a fine job, adding 42 runs for the 10th wicket to take Mumbai to 379/9.

Karnataka hunt turnaround win over Vidarbha to reach semi-finals

Karnataka batsmen set up a fascinating final day with a determined effort after pacers Vidwath Kaverappa and Vysakh Vijaykumar gave them a foothold against Vidarbha with splendid spells on the fourth day of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinals match on Monday.

Chasing a massive 371 to win, Karnataka were 103 for one at close with captain Mayank Agarwal (61) and KV Aneesh (1) at the crease.

The visitors further need 268 runs on Tuesday for a remarkable victory.

But Karnataka should profusely thank Kaverappa (6/61) and Vijaykumar (4/81) for force opening the door while bowling out Vidarbha for 196 in their second innings.

Vidarbha started the day on a strong note at 50 for no loss and ahead by 224 runs.

But the dismissal of opener Dhruv Shorey (57, 98b, 3×4) sparked a collapse as Kaverappa and Vijaykumar ripped through Vidarbha innings with an incisive effort.

The home side lost remaining eight wickets for adding a mere 103 runs in a little less than two sessions and that gave Karnataka a reasonable opening.

Of course, Karnataka still needed to 371 to win but Agarwal and Ravikumar Samarth went after the target in all earnestness adding 101 runs in 23.4 overs.

They scored at nearly five runs an over as Vidarbha bowlers began to wilt under the onslaught.

However, Samarth was castled by left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate minutes before stumps to give some relief to Vidarbha.

Brief scores: Mumbai 384 & 379/9 in 102 overs (Hardik Tamore 114, Prithvi Shaw 87, Shams Mulani 54; Bhargav Bhatt 7/142) lead Baroda 348 by 415 runs. 

Vidarbha: 460 & 196 all out in 57.2 overs (Dhruv Shorey 57, Karun Nair 34; Vidwath Kaverappa 6/61, Vysakh Vijayakumar 4/81) vs Karnataka: 286 & 103/1 in 26 overs (Mayank Agarwal 61 batting, R Samarth 40).