Ranji Trophy, Super League, 2008-09

[h4te]

last time Mumbai had to follow on, you dumbos.. so watch out.

maybe because you were the umpire in that match???? :giggle:

[Guest dada_rocks]

who will I have to suck up to get this synecure position of selectors.. I too wud have lked Ganguly to take over but it seems he is too busy joining communist in their nonsense.. I guess time has come for me to change the handle.. i can't take this communazi abomination on dada's resume

[Guest Hiten.]

Bengal bowlers were literally throwing pies at 120 KMPH. Ranadeb Bose, a big tall *** was bowling at 115 and then he ponders why isn't he in the national team's reckoning. TN vs Bengal was absolutely ridiculous game of cricket considering it was a fight for semi-final. Bengal never really tried to get wickets, instead they were waiting for something to happen and that's how they got the 2 wickets. Mukund played wrong line and was bowled whereas Vijay played a really loose shot and was caught at slips. Moreover, Bengal captain Shukla was condoning his bowlers by saying "ek ghante mein baaaris aane waali". Quite a farce, IMO

[h4te]

Most 'fast' bowlers in ranji are 120k trundlers (praveen and irfan included...).....those who are 130+ are either in our national squad or dancing on some show..... what are you talking about? The TN-Bengal game had more twists than a pretzel.....it was entertaining all the way through..... the only two matches that were worth watching were Ben-Tn and Saur-Karn......both of them had amazing twists and finishes. The other two would've been a borefest with one team grinding the other to pulp....

[Guest Hiten.]

Most 'fast' bowlers in ranji are 120k trundlers (praveen and irfan included...).....those who are 130+ are either in our national squad or dancing on some show..... what are you talking about? The TN-Bengal game had more twists than a pretzel.....it was entertaining all the way through..... the only two matches that were worth watching were Ben-Tn and Saur-Karn......both of them had amazing twists and finishes. The other two would've been a borefest with one team grinding the other to pulp....

I should have been more precise. TN run chase was borefest due to Bengal's poor body language. TN batsmen did not have to struggle for runs, infact they were able to hit a boundary in every over.

[Guest Hiten.]

Amits talks horse crap with nothing to show. I showed you recent game on the belter. Mumbai could not make 200

Those were early days my friend. Since that match we have won 4 on a trot. Whereas Pujara has failed since that game (barring a 100 in quarters). Its Rahane vs Pujara :yay:

[Dravid]

vow.. Sir, where were u when yuvi was giving strike so SRT can score a century in chennai?? where were u, when dhoni was letting gauti n yuvi get a century n not pushin for a win?? i dont see any thread from you bashing them?? why is tht?? sick of these double standards.. and its not like he was lookin for his 100 at the cost of his team's victory....

completely agree.. its a mumbai stink fest here big time.. and then we have couple of wanna bes that add to it

[h4te]

I should have been more precise. TN run chase was borefest due to Bengal's poor body language. TN batsmen did not have to struggle for runs' date=' infact they were able to hit a boundary in every over.[/quote'] well, ok, there was pretty much no resistance by Bengal in the 4th innings. But, I think the first session of play more than made up for it.

completely agree.. its a mumbai stink fest here big time.. and then we have couple of wanna bes that add to it

where the hell have you been :whack:

[Ram]

All said and done TN was still scoring at around 4RPO. And moving rapidly towards the target. I dont condone the unssportsmanlike behavior of Bengal team. And bowling 5 wides to deny a century to an opposition team batsman takes the crown in unsportsmanlike conduct.

Really, was that done deliberately? Commenting on the match itself, Badri has once again reinforced his spot in the test squad. But with Yuvraj making some important runs, his future looks a little bleak. He will probably end up as one of the most prolific FC batsman never to play a test for India, despite being so close, on so many occasions.

[Guest Hiten.]

Really, was that done deliberately? Commenting on the match itself, Badri has once again reinforced his spot in the test squad. But with Yuvraj making some important runs, his future looks a little bleak. He will probably end up as one of the most prolific FC batsman never to play a test for India, despite being so close, on so many occasions.

Yes it was done deliberately by Manoj Tiwary.

[Ram]

Yes it was done deliberately by Manoj Tiwary.

Hmmm, that is shocking, to say the least.

[Holysmoke]

Mumbai will win. All this trash talking will make u look even more stupid after the game. Why arent Zak and God playing?

[graphic23]

Mumbai will win. All this trash talking will make u look even more stupid after the game. Why arent Zak and God playing?

They don't deserve to. They didn't help the team get to this point. What happens if Sachin or Zaheer replace someone and then they don't perform well? Then, the guys who missed out would feel terrible and the team would have a feeling that they didn't try their best, maybe.

[Holysmoke]

They don't deserve to. They didn't help the team get to this point. What happens if Sachin or Zaheer replace someone and then they don't perform well? Then' date=' the guys who missed out would feel terrible and the team would have a feeling that they didn't try their best, maybe.[/quote'] Doesnt matter, they werent available. Mumbai should play their best possible 11, one which gives them the best chance to win the trophy. Now dont tell me Mumbai's best 11 is without SRT and Zak.

[graphic23]

Then we'd be driving ford model T's.

Thats not the point. People who got to this point deserve to go and win it. Its unfair for the guys who'd miss out otherwise.

[Holysmoke]

Thats not the point. People who got to this point deserve to go and win it. Its unfair for the guys who'd miss out otherwise.

No, its not. Mumbai is a club, one that will play its best possible 11. If someone loses his spot to SRT, big deal, but emotions shouldnt affect your chances of winning the cup. And Mumbai's chances of winning the cup go much higher with SRT and Zak.

[swami1984]

Relying just on a single player to take on a quality side like Mumbai ?? Saurashtra have no chances!

Well its not just Pujara - Ravindra Jadeja did well to score approx. 90 runs and take 9 wickets in the prior match. He should be MoM

[chanakya]

Fallen out of form since then though which is a bit of a shame and will likely miss out to Zaheer Khan in the semi-finals. Promises of 140kph are often pretty minor too since it is often a top speed which is only visible in the nets or in a T20.

but he is big tall lad and his plus point is he is left armer with this stature 130-140 range will be very effective in most condition as he is a strong man and can get extra bounce with his height like Ishant Sharma 6 foot 4 inches. Height always helps a fast bowler and he can become an India prospect if look after well. he is from a poor background and knows the importance of hardwork. he can be a big weapon for India in the future because there are very few left armer who are as tall as him in the world cricket and can bowl at lively pace. I am sure he will maintain his pace ig\f he gets good training. BCCI needs look at this bowler. he has lot of potential.

[kannanp7]

Balaji and Vijay take TN to semis Balaji and Vijay take TN to semis Tamil Nadu 306 (Kumar 75) and 227 for 2 (Badrinath 92*, Vijay 73) beat Bengal 345 (Tiwary 144, Ganapathy 5-59) and 187 (Balaji 6-24) by eight wickets

[Chandan]

THE QUARTER-FINALS Mumbai v Himachal Pradesh in Ahmedabad, Day 4 Mumbai 495 (Jaffer 108, Rohit 98, Agarkar 50) and 43 for 1 beat Himachal Pradesh 250 (Sarandeep Singh 75, Mannu 61, Nayar 6-45) and 287 (Dogra 90, Sangram Singh 58, Agarkar 5-78) by nine wickets Scorecard Agarkar bowls Mumbai into the last four Ajit Agarkar's five wickets helped Mumbai to an easy win Himachal Pradesh's resistance did not last long into the fourth day. Ajit Agarkar took three wickets in seven balls to nip the improbable hopes of a draw - HP began the day trailing by 45 runs with five second-innings wickets in hand - and the batsmen chased down the target with nine wickets to spare. Resuming the day on 200 for 5, HP soon found themselves at 224 for 8 once Agarkar struck. He removed Sarandeep Singh, to an athletic catch by Rohit Sharma at cover, and Vishal Bhatia in the 60th over of the innings. Paras Dogra, who top scored with 90, was undone by a snorter in Agarkar's next over. It was a timely return to form for Agarkar, who picked up his first five-wicket haul of the tournament - he had removed the openers on the third day. Vikramjeet Malik and Ashok Thakur, the HP captain, added 41 runs in 4.3 overs to quickly take their team into the lead. But that was the best they could do: Thakur was run out for 16, while Malik was caught-and-bowled for a run-a-ball 26 by Ramesh Powar. Mumbai lost Ajinkya Rahane during their chase, which they completed in 13.4 overs. "It was a team effort," their coach Praveen Amre told DNA. "Everyone chipped in and that made this match special." Mumbai will be strengthened by the inclusion of Zaheer Khan and Sachin Tendulkar for the semi-finals, where they take on Saurashtra. Another POV Mumbai thump Himachal by nine wickets G. Viswanath Agarkar returned five for 78 in 18 overs Zaheer Khan will play the semifinal against Saurashtra Ahmedabad: For the first time this season, the ball appeared a hostile object coming from the arm of Ajit Agarkar. Taking almost three months to recover from a hernia-related ailment, Mumbai’s frontline seamer for many years chose to sit out of three super league matches, handing over the seam attack duty to young Dhawal Kulkarni. Even on the first day of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Himachal Pradesh, he appeared rusty and searching for ideas. But on Sunday evening and Monday morning he looked the part. Impressive Agarkar’s five for 78 (Agarkar bowled an inspired spell of 5-1-28-3 in the morning) in eighteen overs was impressive and notable for the manner in which he approached the task in hand; he was quick and sent down yorker-length deliveries at will, intimidating short balls at times and also managed to swing. A snorter of a delivery saw the exit of Paras Dogra, who was 10 runs short of a century. Thanks to Agarkar’s splendid effort, Mumbai marched towards victory against an opponent that managed to avoid an innings defeat at the Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, as Mumbai were left with just 43 to chase for a win. That they got in a canter, with Vinayak Samant remaining unbeaten on 24 and Abhishek Nayar stepping in to wind up the proceedings after Ajinkya Rahane had fallen leg-before just before the end. Mumbai’s sixth win in eight matches, that came less than half an hour before lunch, portrayed the strength of its bowling combination. Rohit Sharma’s acrobatic effort at cover saw the first dismissal of the fourth day’s play, a sixth victim in Sarandeep Singh. In the same over Agarkar also won an appeal for leg-before from umpire Shavir Tarapore against Vishal Bhatia. In spite of some early setbacks, Himachal Pradesh made 87 runs in 76 balls thanks to the employment of the long handle by Ashok Thakur and Vikramjeet Singh Malik. Potent bowling side In achieving six outright wins and two draws, the Mumbai bowlers in Agarkar, Kulkarni, Usman Malvi, Murtaza Hussain, Rajesh Verma, Rahil Shaikh, Ramesh Powar, Sairaj Bahutule and Kshemal Waingankar captured 124 wickets; Ankit Chavan, Amol Muzumdar and Rohit had five wickets. India pace spearhead left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan will bolster the attack for the semifinal against Saurashtra to be played at Chennai from January 4, 2009. Change for semi-final Mumbai completed a comfortable nine-wicket win over a hapless Himachal Pradesh on Monday — a result that leaves captain Wasim Jaffer with a couple of uncomfortable decisions to ponder in the days to come. Mumbai’s win was their fifth in succession as they stormed into the last four, but rather than the match, the post-game press conference revolved around who would be dropped to make way for Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan, both of who are expected to step out for the clash against Saurashtra. “It will be a tough decision but we have to take it. We will see whom to drop,†Jaffer said. The team had faced a similar dilemma two seasons ago, when Amol Muzumdar was the skipper. Then, he had to ask Nilesh Kulkarni to sit the game out and, ironically, this time Muzumdar himself is most likely to get the axe. Rahil Shaikh is expected to make way for Zaheer. While Abhishek Nayar’s performance with the bat and ball has cemented his place, Muzumdar has only scored one century this year, in an inconsequential group game against Punjab. Gujarat v Uttar Pradesh in Vadodara, Day 4 Uttar Pradesh 305 (Raina 93, Parvinder 64) and 375 (Praveen Gupta 74, Srivastava 67, Amir 56, Parmar 5-113) drew with Gujarat 117 (Praveen Kumar 5-29) and 106 for 3 (Modi 57) UP go through on their first-innings lead Scorecard First-innings lead enough for UP This quarter-final ended in a predictable draw. UP started the day 473 runs ahead but they had no inclination of declaring; a draw would do for them given their first innings lead. They started the day with only two wickets remaining but batted for more than 31 overs, with the overnight batsmen, Amir Khan and Praveen Gupta, making half-centuries. Gujarat had about two sessions to bat and their batsmen plodded along to 106, with opener Nilesh Modi helping himself to a half-century in his last first-class match, before the match was called off. UP will take on Tamil Nadu in the semi-final in Nagpur, which starts on Sunday. Another POV U.P. makes it J.R. Shridharan VADODARA: Uttar Pradesh made it to the semifinals by virtue of the first innings lead (188 runs) against Gujarat in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal that ended in a draw at Motibaug Stadium here on Monday. Last year’s runner-up Uttar Pradesh finished its second innings at 375, thus setting an impossible target of 564 for Gujarat to chase in the last two sessions. Gujarat was 106 for three in 47 overs when the match was called off after the third mandatory over. Gujarat started off in a shaky manner losing opener Priyank Panchal and Niraj Patel to medium pacer Bhuvneshwer Kumar. Parthiv Patel, after facing 38 balls, miscued a pull resulting in a brilliant catch by Bhuvneshwer Kumar at deep fine-leg. Modi sparkles However, the man who hogged the limelight was Nilesh Modi of Gujarat, who made a sparkling 57 (148b, 166m, 9x4) in his last first class match. Nilesh, who scored 250 against Hyderabad this season, had become the most-capped Gujarat Ranji player with 80 matches in his 16-year stint, eclipsing the record of Mukund Parmar. Earlier, resuming at 289 for eight, the U.P. tail wagged merrily. Skipper Kaif’s intention of giving his batsmen some practice proved effective as Praveen Gupta (74, 108b, 153m, 9x4, 3x6) and Amir Khan (56, 194b, 255m, 11x4) put on a 125-run partnership for the ninth wicket. Both batsmen scored their first fifty of the season. Praveen Gupta and Amir Khan continued to play aggressively and added 125 runs for the ninth wicket. Gupta played a stylish knock of 74 runs, studded with three sixes and nine fours while Khan hit 56 runs, including 11 fours. Gujarat’s 21-year-old off-spinner Mohnish Parmar took seven wickets in this match, finishing the Ranji season with an impressive haul of 41 wickets. Karnataka v Saurashtra in Mumbai, Day 4 Saurashtra 189 (RA Jadeja 38, Raghu 2-8) and 327 for 5 (Pujara 112*, Kotak 87, Shah 55*, RA Jadeja 55, Vinay 3-84) beat Karnataka 305 (Uthappa 139, RA Jadeja 5-82, Odedra 3-68) and 208 (Akhil 56, Dravid 52, Jobanputra 5-54, R Jadeja 4-58) by five wickets Scorecard Pujara powers Saurashtra to splendid win Saurashtra joined in the season of improbable chases by reaching the target of 325 set by Karnataka with considerable ease to enter their second successive Ranji Trophy semi-final. Cheteshwar Pujara scored a match-winning century under pressure and was helped by contributions from Shitanshu Kotak, Ravindra Jadeja and captain Jaydev Shah. Cheteshwar Pujara's unbeaten century steered Saurashtra to a remarkable victory The backbone of the chase was the 163-run fourth-wicket partnership between Pujara and Kotak that dimmed and then ended Karnataka's hopes of victory. Those hopes had flared on a spectacular catch by B Akhil, who threw himself to the right to grab Bhushan Chauhan's outside edge off Vinay Kumar, and ebbed quietly as the Kotak-Pujara combine took centrestage. Both batsmen played enterprisingly, taking their chances rather than grafting around and waiting for the bad deliveries. Kotak prodded one past point and ran three off his first ball in the morning off Vinay and later got away with two edges that whistled past the slips and gully. Pujara took 22 balls for his first run but was soon into the groove, his first three scoring shots being fours. The first was a punch straight down the ground off Vinay, followed by a square-drive on the back foot in the bowler's next over. He then cut NC Aiyappa, who had already been clipped past midwicket by Kotak in the same over, when the bowler pitched short and wide. Pujara, who began the season with big knocks but failed to reach a half-century in his last seven innings, brought the 50-run partnership with a handsome cover drive off Sunil Joshi - it beat the diving fielders at cover and mid-off. At the other end, Kotak brought up his fifty in style, moving quickly outside the line of a delivery from Vinay to push it to the boundary at long-on. Pujara pulled Joshi immediately in the first over post lunch to get to his half-century. Kotak, the more experienced of the two, realised the session was vital and tried to face most of the deliveries. Vinay got the ball to reverse, and Kotak patiently waited for the bowler to commit an error. When Vinay bowled full on his leg, Kotak found the boundary at square-leg. He even stepped out to hit Joshi over mid-on for a one-bounce four. With none of their bowlers able to impose themselves, Karnataka were clutching at straws. As the pressure mounted, Robin Uthappa, the Karnataka captain, let the experienced Rahul Dravid take charge in the field, but even he could not do much apart from shining the ball, patting the bowlers and clapping. Karnataka's best chance arrived when Pujara, on 58, chased an away-going delivery in Akhil's second over but C Raghu, standing wide at first slip, fumbled an easy catch. The score was 148 and it proved to be a turning point as Pujara proceeded to seal Saurashtra's victory. Kotak, who has built his reputation as a stonewaller by picking his runs in the brick-by-brick fashion, took the initiative in this innings, not hesitating to hook the fast bowlers. By the time Kotak departed, caught-and-bowled by C Raghu half an hour before tea, Saurashtra's man Friday had virtually robbed Karnataka's chances of winning. In walked Ravindra Jadeja - arms swinging, chest high, eager to finish the job. He pulled Aiyappa on arrival, and put the pressure back on the bowlers by pulling and sweeping Raghu for consecutive fours a couple of overs later. When Joshi returned for his second spell in the afternoon, Jadeja stepped out to club the veteran left-arm spinner over mid-off for another four, and later for a straight hit down the ground. Saurashtra went to tea requiring 105 runs in the remaining 32 overs. Pujara, who was subdued in the second session, returned with renewed vigour and Karnataka were fast receding against the agility of the 20-year-olds. Having pulled Vinay for another boundary to bring the target below the 100-mark, Jadeja cut Joshi for a four and then walked a single to long-on to complete a swift half-century. He was caught at point trying to slog-sweep Raghu, but Jaydev Shah carried forward the assault with a ruthless half-century of his own that included nine hits past the boundary and a six over widish long-on. Saurashtra will face Mumbai in the semi-final in Chennai, starting January 4. Another POV Saurashtra’s batsmen to the fore : Pujara gets the job done Nandakumar Marar Pujara comes up with yet another match-winning century PROLIFIC PERFORMER: Saurashtra’s Cheteshwar Pujara, who has had a fantastic season so far, acknowledges the cheers after reaching his match-winning century on Monday.. MUMBAI: With a superb display of team-work, Saurashtra, faced with an imposing target of 325 for an outright victory over Karnataka, chased down the 315 required on the fourth and final day for a five-wicket win here on Monday. The setting was the parking lot at the Cricket Club of India (CCI), and three heroes were on their way out after a hard day’s work. But even hours after orchestrating an amazing run-chase, which led Saurashtra to the Ranji Trophy semi-finals, Cricket was still on their minds. Ravindra Jadeja dropped his kit-bag and animatedly started describing his dismissal to Shitanshu Kotak, while centurion Cheteshwar Pujara was simply relieved that he hung around till the difficult target of 325 was crossed. The reward for some sensible batting by Sitanshu Kotak (87, 147 balls), supported by Cheteshwar Pujara (112 not out, 224 balls), Ravindra Jadeja (55, 41 balls) and Jaidev Shah (55 not out, 43 balls) was a semifinal spot for the second consecutive season. Nightmare start At 13/3, two overs into the day, and with R Vinay Kumar bowling with his tail up, it looked like Karnataka would have to play poor cricket, or be outplayed by a special performance, in order to lose. What followed was a combination of both. Aware of first innings mistakes by its batsmen, which restricted the total to 189, Saurashtra focussed on keeping wickets intact against the Karnataka swing and spin bowlers on the Brabourne Stadium track before launching into an onslaught. Big stand As expected, Kotak anchored the innings, allowing Pujara (15 x 4) the freedom to engage in strokeplay during a 163-run stand for the fourth wicket. Jadeja swung the match in his team’s favour with clean hitting (eight fours), making way for captain Jaidev to tame the bowling (9 x 4, 1x 6) and help the side canter home in 79 overs. One of the most experienced journeymen in Indian cricket, Kotak is renowned for his love for spending long periods at the crease, and most of his innings are considered a drag. But the 36-year-old left-hander chose to play in unnatural fashion on the day, taking the attack to the Karnataka bowlers. Kotak, at one point, scored two boundaries in one over, leading to a few sniggers — that’s something he hadn’t done too often in his long career. As he revealed after the match, Kotak himself was surprised by the fact that he outscored Pujara throughout their 163-run partnership. The young, middle-order batsman started off on an aggressive note, with his first four scoring shots being boundaries, but fell behind his veteran partner soon after. The score at lunch was 111/3, and for Saurashtra, things were back on track. “We had decided that if we managed to add 100 runs by lunch, we would be in perfect position to attack in the following sessions and achieve our target. And it went perfectly to plan,†he said. The scoring rate did fall all of a sudden post lunch, as Pujara started scratching around for his runs, and Kotak couldn’t quite find the middle of the bat. C Raghu was then involved in two incidents, which could have turned the game Karnataka’s way. He first dropped a difficult chance at slip off Pujara’s bat, before Kotak was put down at short-leg off his bowling in the very next over. Karnataka got chances to trip Saurashtra’s run chase. When on 57 (148 for three), Pujara was tested by fast bowler R. Vinay Kumar with bounce but Raghu could not hold on at slip. Veteran left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi had an appeal for catch turned down against the same batsmen, after Pawan at silly point dived to grab the ball lobbing off wicket-keeper Thilak Naidu’s shoulder. Pujara started with three boundaries in a row, got bogged down midway and picked up runs from singles before unleashing his full range of shots to notch a century off 212 balls in 305 minutes. The duo took the Saurashtra innings forward in a steady fashion, and with around 50 overs to go, looked set for the final charge. It is at this point, Kotak said later, that the Karnataka wicket-keeper Thilak Naidu took a jibe at him. “He told me it is like a one-day game now. I only said, ‘you decide whether it is a good thing or not’,†said Kotak. He looked well on his way to a deserved century, but then hit a Raghu delivery straight back to the bowler on 87, leaving Saurashtra at 176-4, still 149 runs adrift. Final assault Jadeja’s assault on the bowling was breathtaking, footwork and bat speed standing out as the left-hander cleared the ropes with ease. Though the all-rounder (636 runs from seven league at an average of 79.50) had a soft dismissal, he had snuffed out Karnataka hopes by taking Saurashtra closer to victory at 253 for five. The final assault came from Jaidev, effortlessly hitting through the line against swing and spin on a sporting wicket on which Vinay Kumar (three for 84) and Raghu (two for 66) posed questions to the batsmen even on the fourth day. Shah kept going over the top, even clearing the fence on one occasion, and led his team to victory with an unbeaten 43-ball 55. Saurashtra’s remarkable triumph may have heralded a number of heroes, including the likes of Sandeep Jobanputra. Last year’s semi-finalists will need this and more as they head to Chennai to face the might of a Mumbai unit, which is likely to include the names of Zaheer Khan and Sachin Tendulkar. Tamil Nadu v Bengal in Bangalore, Day 4 Tamil Nadu 306 (Kumar 75) and 227 for 2 (Badrinath 92*, Vijay 73) beat Bengal 345 (Tiwary 144, Ganapathy 5-59) and 187 (Balaji 6-24) by eight wickets Scorecard Balaji and Vijay take TN to semis Tamil Nadu were behind for three days of this contest but, on the fourth, executed a perfect one-two sucker punch to beat Bengal and enter the Ranji semis. In the morning, L Balaji ripped through the Bengal lower order, taking five wickets for seven runs; that quick burst gave Tamil Nadu the time to chase 227 in a minimum of 68 overs. M Vijay showed up the pitch for what it truly was, scoring a quickfire 73 with utmost ease to set up Tamil Nadu's chase, and S Badrinath's unbeaten 92 completed the victory. L Balaji's incisive spell, where he took five wickets for seven runs, transformed the game In many ways this was a contest between Manoj Tiwary and Balaji. Tiwary rallied Bengal from a poor start on the first day and went on to score a big hundred but Balaji pulled a googly out of the hat to deceive him and keep Bengal from reaching a huge score. When Tamil Nadu batted and looked like they would get the lead, Tiwary produced a superlative catch to make a crucial breakthrough. Balaji then did his bit with the bat to bring the deficit down to 39. Tiwary again scored 42 and kept the bowlers at bay but Balaji had the last laugh on the final day, bowling accurately and getting the ball to nip around enough to wipe the tail off in a hurry. Balaji's efforts spoke for itself: 20-11-24-6, and figures of 8-5-7-5 today, his best spell since returning to first-class cricket this season. Bengal started the day 173 in front, needing to bat out one session to secure their semi-final berth. The biggest wicket was going to be that of Laxmi Ratan Shukla, who had looked good for his 43 yesterday. The biggest wicket was also the first of the day, Balaji extracting a couple of inches of extra bounce and getting Shukla, who was looking to pull out of the shot, to glove the ball. Ritam Kundu, with a resolute 21 off 55 deliveries, got a vicious outswinger. Balaji went wide of the crease, angled one in, making Kundu play down the line of middle-stump, and got it to leave him and send the off stump cartwheeling. Flying stumps reinvigorate bowlers, and they had the same effect on Balaji. His next victim was Arindam Das, who couldn't open yesterday because of an upset stomach and came in to bat at No. 7. Das left a gap between bat and pad and Balaji went through it to get his third wicket in nine deliveries. Rohan Banerjee, the other opener taken ill, came in at No. 8, and with Sourav Sarkar resisted for a while. Balaji took an over's break after a seven-over spell, and he proved too good for Sarkar in his first over on return. Three balls later, he sent back Ashok Dinda, who went for a horrendous pull, which landed in S Vidyut's hands next to the non-striker. Bengal finished their ordeal with a silly run-out, which has been a feature of this match. Ranadeb Bose ran for a single to short fine leg, but was simply not quick enough to reach in time, leaving Banerjee stranded on 9. Bengal's collapse made 227 look a tricky target on the last day but that had more to do with Balaji's bowling and their inept batting than the pitch, which still was a batting beauty. Vijay proved just that with some entertaining batting. He started with a square-driven boundary off the fourth ball he faced and provided an exhibition of cover drives. He took both Bose and Dinda to the cleaners, bringing up the team's fifty in the 11th over. Bengal looked to attack, keeping the fields up, and Vijay capitalised on them fully with the cleanest hitting in the match since Tiwary's hundred in the first innings. When Abhinav Mukund, his opening partner, got out for 31, he had already reached his half-century - off 57 deliveries - with trademark cover drives and a six off Dinda after walking down the track. By the time Vijay was out for 73, Bengal were already a demoralised side and were 105 runs short of being knocked out. Badrinath had a shaky start, but recovered well and helped himself to an unbeaten 92 as Tamil Nadu finished their second comeback-from-behind victory this season. They had conceded the lead in their game against Baroda as well and it was their batsmen who brought them back that time. Tamil Nadu showed great character in this match, but spare a thought for Tiwary and Bose, who gave their best in their first match against top-flight opposition this season. Another POV Badrinath, Vijay put TN in semifinals K.C. Vijaya Kumar Balaji shatters Bengal’s hopes with six second-innings wickets MEMORABLE SPELL: L. Balaji delivered when it mattered, claiming a six-for to set up Tamil Nadu’s victory over Bengal in the quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy on Monday. Bangalore: On a day of dramatic upheavals triggered by L. Balaji’s six-wicket haul, S. Badrinath (92 n.o.) and M. Vijay (73) added their batting mettle as Tamil Nadu defeated Bengal by eight wickets in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals that concluded at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Monday. Tamil Nadu will now play Uttar Pradesh at Nagpur in the semifinals, commencing on January 4. Balaji’s morning spells of 7-4-7-3 and 1-1-0-2 snuffed out Bengal’s second innings. Resuming at 134 for four, Bengal lost its skipper L.R. Shukla early. Shukla remained indecisive as Balaji’s delivery slanted in and grazed the bat to nestle in Dinesh Karthik’s gloves. Balaji then repeatedly rattled timber as Ritam Kundu, Arindam Das and Sourav Sarkar sported timid bats and frozen feet. Ashok Dinda then miscued a pull and Ranadeb Bose got run out as Bengal was bowled out for 187, leaving a target of 227 from 68 overs. Impressive knock Dinesh Karthik’s men did it in style, scoring 227 for two in 52 overs. Openers Abhinav Mukund (31) and M. Vijay (73, 87b, 12x4, 1x6) set a frenetic pace in an 84-run partnership. Abhinav threaded drives through a packed off-side while Vijay found his runs with a mix of feather-touch flicks and the leaning cover drive as the Bengal seamers Bose and Dinda lost their plot. Sarkar eventually castled Abhinav but Vijay and Badrinath, who was a bit rusty in the beginning, hustled the runs. Vijay, however, perished on the drive but Badrinath (92 n.o., 116b, 12x4, 2x6) began to time the ball though the running between the wickets with skipper Karthik remained risky. Badrinath carted off-spinner Kundu for two sixes and was racing towards his century when Bengal acted like sore loser as Manoj Tiwary and Kundu bowled wides. The milestone was missed but victory could not be denied as Karthik slammed the winning run while the latest Tamil hits began in the dressing room. CAB decides to question coach On a day when an hour of bad batting saw Bengal surrender the initiative and eventually lose their Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Tamil Nadu, coach Utpal Chatterjee said he wasn’t sure whether the powers that be would let him continue. “I don’t know whether I will be allowed to continue as coach. If they (CAB) want me to continue, then I have to be given complete freedom. I will continue on my own terms, with my dignity intact. If they don’t like it, I don’t mind saying goodbye,†Chatterjee told The Indian Express. The CAB, on the other hand, has decided to show-cause Chatterjee and will call a working committee meeting in 10 days’ time to formalise the process — indication that the Jagmohan Dalmiya-led administration doesn’t want Chatterjee to continue. The Bengal coach was at the centre of a controversy a week back that saw a lot of bad blood between him and chief selector Sambaran Banerjee. The former was not invited to the selection meeting for the Tamil Nadu match. Both accompanied the team to Bangalore but Banerjee couldn’t enter the dressing room, on instructions from the coach. Asked whether the controversy affected the players’ focus, Chatterjee said: “I don’t think so. If that’d been the case, we would have lost in two days. We were in the driver’s seat till this morning and lost it due to some poor batting on the final day.â€