Day 4 brought Round 2 of the Ranji Trophy to an eventful finish. Several teams converted commanding positions into emphatic wins and others taking first-innings points. Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kerala led the Elite Division victories, while Meghalaya edged Manipur by three runs in a Plate Group thriller.
Mumbai crush Himachal by an innings
One of the round’s most emphatic victories was recorded by Mumbai. They beat Himachal Pradesh by an innings and 97 runs in Bilaspur. Sarfaraz Khan’s commanding 154 had put Mumbai firmly in control before their bowlers dismissed Himachal for 291 in the second innings to secure full points.
Hyderabad seal a 267-run rout
Hyderabad were just as convincing against Andhra at the DVR Ground, winning by 267 runs. Faced with a daunting chase, Andhra folded for 130 as left-arm spinner Tanay Thyagarajan made the decisive breakthroughs.
Punjab survive early wobble to win
Punjab needed only 86 to beat Chhattisgarh in Mullanpur. They lost a few early wickets but recovered to complete a seven-wicket win, although the stumbles meant they missed out on a bonus point.
Kerala complete commanding innings victory
Kerala rounded off an innings-and-36-run victory over Odisha in Thiruvananthapuram. Veteran all-rounder Jalaj Saxena was at the heart of the result with a five-wicket haul as Odisha, asked to follow on, were bowled out for 143.
There were decisive results completed earlier. Tamil Nadu beat Uttarakhand by an innings and 66 runs, Haryana defeated Chandigarh by an innings and 24 runs, and Baroda swept past Bihar by 10 wickets. Assam overcame Tripura by nine wickets, whereas Vidarbha edged Jammu and Kashmir by three wickets. On the other hand, Uttar Pradesh beat Goa by 68 runs, and Bengal completed a 60-run win over Services.
First-innings leads decide the drawn matches
Saurashtra and Maharashtra earned three points from their respective draws through first-innings leads. Bad light ended Saurashtra’s match against Karnataka at Alur. With the visitors on 137 for two, their seven-run first-innings advantage proved to be decisive. Jharkhand reached 344 for eight in their second innings, but Maharashtra retained the points secured by their earlier lead.
Delhi and Rajasthan also took first-innings honours in drawn matches. Delhi’s 648/6 (declared) overwhelmed Gujarat in New Delhi, while Rajasthan’s 497 gave them the advantage over Railways in Jaipur. In Thuthipet, weather interruptions and patient batting ensured Pondicherry’s match with Madhya Pradesh ended without a result. Pondicherry closed on 98 for one in reply to 345.
Plate Group: Meghalaya survive a final-day scare
In the Plate Group, Meghalaya held their nerve to beat Manipur by three runs in Shillong, dismissing them for 272, while Nagaland and Mizoram played out a high-scoring draw in Dimapur as Chinmay Sutar struck an unbeaten 400 in Mizoram’s 581 for nine declared. Sikkim recorded the most emphatic result, crushing Arunachal Pradesh by an innings and 328 runs.
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