Ajit Chahal

Pacer Sandeep Sharma wrecked havoc with a career-best figures of 7 for 19 as Punjab beat Haryana by three wickets in a low scoring Elite Group B match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy National One-Day tournament on Sunday.

Bengal finished their domestic campaign on a disappointing note, going down to Haryana by five wickets in their last Vijay Hazare Trophy Elite Group E match at the Eden Gardens on Monday.

Odisha needed 32 runs while Haryana required three wickets, leaving their Group C Ranji Trophy clash tantalisingly poised on Monday.

Jammu and Kashmir made it to the quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy despite suffering a two-wicket defeat at the hands of Haryana in their final Group C match on Saturday.

Skipper Himanshu Rana led from the front with his fourth first-class century as Haryana reached 204/3 in a strong reply to Punjab's mammoth 444 on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Group F fixture here on Friday.

Mandeep Singh remained unbeaten on a majestic 130, while wicketkeeper-batter Anmol Malhotra also slammed a century as Punjab recovered from a poor start to post 368 for 5 against Haryana on day one of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group F match on Thursday.

Ishank Jaggi (127) cracked a superb century to power Jharkhand to 311 for 6 in their first innings against Haryana on the second day of a Ranji Trophy group B encounter on Wednesday.

A late strike by Abid Mushtaq helped Jammu & Kashmir reduce Haryana to 2 for 1 after the home team was 340 all out on the first day of the Ranji Trophy Group C match on Wednesday.

S R Ladhar, principal secretary, NRI Affairs, Punjab, released his book 'Kyon Khaunf kolo dar de ne log?' at Panjab University here on Tuesday.

On a sedate day of cricket, Kerala have reinforced their upperhand against Haryana in the Ranji Trophy Group B game despite their batting looking painstakingly slow from the outside. Kerala closed the second day at 205 for the loss of three wickets, three runs behind Haryana's first-innings score of 208 at Lahli on Sunday.

Bengal took firm control of their Ranji Trophy Group 'A' match against Haryana by bowling the hosts out for 163 runs only at Lahli on Wednesday. The Bengal pacers responded well after their first innings folded up for 419 runs just before the lunch interval on Day 2.

Into their second domestic season, Chandigarh will get first-hand experience of playing in the Elite Group, when they open their Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign against neighbours Haryana in a Group E clash in Kolkata on Sunday.

Sanju Samson continued his good form and struck a quickfire century as Kerala need another nine wickets on the final day of the play to register an outright win over Saurashtra in a Ranji Trophy Group B match.

30, 35 and 38 were the only notable partnerships for Chandigarh before being bundled out for a meagre 168 in 62.3 overs, and merely two sessions into the first day’s play of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match against Baroda in Cuttack.

Odisha tailenders Basant Mohanty and Pappu Roy held their nerves to snatch a thrilling one-wicket victory over hosts Haryana in their Ranji Trophy fixture on Tuesday.

Abhimanyu Easwaran continued his fine form with an unbeaten on 82 in Bengal's second innings as their Ranji Trophy Group A match against hosts Uttarakhand ended in a tame draw here on Friday. Easwaran, who hit 165 in the first innings at the ground named after him, continued from where he left and added 58 runs to his overnight score, while Sudip Kumar Gharami (72) made 48 more runs on Friday as Bengal declared their second innings at 206 for 7, setting Uttarakhand an improbable target of 322 runs.

Mumbai's lower order rescued the team from a perilous 101 for six to 278 for eight on Day 1 of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Haryana. Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian's crucial 165-run partnership played a pivotal role. Haryana bowlers Anshul Kamboj and Sumit Kumar initially dominated, but Mumbai found stability thanks to Mulani and Kotian's resilience.

Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian's 165-run partnership for the eighth wicket led to Mumbai's recovery, scoring 278 for 8 against Haryana in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final. Despite early struggles and Ajinkya Rahane’s decision to bat first backfiring, Mulani's 91 and Kotian's unbeaten 85 provided a fighting total.

Basil sets the tone with the bat as Kerala inch closer to knockouts berth.

Saurashtra suffered a shocking 62-run loss at the hands of Services but still managed to finish as Group E toppers and qualified for the knock-out phase of the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Monday. At the 22 Yards Academy in Salt Lake, Services rode on Rahul Singh Gahlaut career-best 158 to post a challenging 301 for seven and in reply Saurashtra were bundled out for 233 in 43.1 overs.