Ranji Trophy: Jharkhand's fairytale run continues

KOLKATA: While Ranji Trophy pales in comparison to the glitz and glamour of English Premier League, a fairytale akin to that of Leicester City is unravelling in India's premier domestic cricket competition. On Monday, Jharkhand made the Ranji Trophy semi-finals for the first time in their history, defeating Haryana by five wickets after chasing down a fourth innings target of 175 runs on the fourth day of their Ranji Trophy quarter-final at the Moti Bagh Stadium.
Haryana, who were 146-2 on the third day, were dismissed for 262 runs as left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem took 4/78 for match figures of 11/157. Leg-spinner Samar Quadri picked 3/75 in the second innings. Jharkhand, who had a first innings lead of 87 runs, chased down the total in a hurry, thanks to opener Ishan Kishan's blistering 61-ball 86.
Haryana would be ruing a middle-order batting collapse as they were nicely placed at 146-2 on the third day with a lead of 59 runs. Shivam Chauhan and Chaitanya Bishnoi, who were unbeaten on their individual scores of 33 and 22 respectively, handled the first hour of play quite well. They had shared a 87-run stand for the third wicket when Nadeem gave Jharkhand the breakthrough by removing Shivam (43), with Haryana at 178-3. Nadeem then dismissed Rajat Paliwal (2), while Kaushal Singh got into the act by getting the key wicket of Bishnoi (52) to ignite Jharkhand's hopes as Haryana were reduced to 188-5. Nadeem struck again, getting a LBW decision for Rohit Sharma and Amit Mishra (0) ran himself out as they crumbled. Till then, Haryana were 193-7, with a lead of merely 106 runs.
Lower-order batsmen Sanjay Pahal (29), Harshal Patel (25) and Yuzvendra Chahal (12) tried their level best to push Haryana's total. Quadri sent back Sanjay, while Harshal was accounted for by Rahul Shukla. With Nadeem removing Chahal, Haryana's innings ended at 262, setting a target of 175 for Jharkhand. And Jharkhand went about their business fluently. Openers Ishan (86) and Anand Singh (27) provided a 91-run stand to get their side only 84 behind the target.
Left-hander Ishan punished all the bowlers as he smacked nine fours and six sixes to score 86 from just 61 deliveries. Jharkhand will have to be at their best for two more games if they are to replicate Leicester's success.