Ranji Trophy: Punjab beat Tripura by 6 wickets, secure knock-out berth

NEW DELHI:

Mandeep

Singh anchored Punjab's successful 240-run chase with a 97 not out to beat Tripura by six wickets in their elite group F match and confirm their knockout berth in the Ranji Trophy here on Saturday.

Mandeep was involved in two key partnerships of 99 and 77 runs with Anmolpreet Singh (64 from 149 balls) and Ramandeep Singh (43 from 38 balls) to revive Punjab innings after they got off to a shaky start.

Opener Prabhismaran Singh (0) was dismissed by Manisankar Murasingh in the first over, while Abhishek Sharma also failed to convert his start to be dismissed for 15 as Punjab were reduced to 47/2 inside the first hour's play.

But Mandeep held on to seal the chase in 66 overs as Punjab finished with 16 points to top the table and qualify for the knockouts.

Brief Scores:

At Arun Jaitley Stadium: Tripura 127 and 232. Punjab 120 and 240/4 from 66 overs (Mandeep Singh 97 not out, Anmolpreet Singh 64, Ramandeep Singh 43). Punjab won by six wickets. Points: Punjab 6, Tripura 0.

At Palam A Ground: Haryana 302 and 320/9 declared from 76.1 overs (Yashu Sharma 55, Yuvraj Singh 50; Akash Vasisht 4/58). Himachal Pradesh 184 and 102/6 from 33 overs (Ankit Kalsi 37 batting). Himachal Pradesh need 337 runs to win.