Ranji Trophy: Rahul, Smaran star as Karnataka overcome Mumbai
KL Rahul's 130 and Smaran Ravichandran's unbeaten 83 saw Karnataka chase down 325 at the BKC Ground in Mumbai to head into the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy 2025-26. Needing 212 on the final day with eight wickets in hand, Rahul and Smaran put on a 147-run stand as the visitors eased towards the target. Rahul fell to Tushar Deshpande after an innings laden with 14 boundaries and a six with the score at 266 for 4. Karnataka had a mini-blip losing Shreyas Gopal and Kruthik Krishna cheaply. But Vidyadhar Patil hit a quick unbeaten 30-ball 31 to dash any doubts as Karnataka clinched a four-wicket win. They will face Uttarakhand in the semi-final.
Sudip Kumar Gharami agonisingly fell short of a triple-hundred by just one run, scoring 299 off 596 deliveries after a batting marathon that consisted of 31 fours and 6 sixes. Gharami put on a 221-run stand with Shakir Habib Gandhi (95) who also fell short of reaching his milestone. Mohammed Shami then dazzled with the bat scoring 53 off 33 balls with seven boundaries and three sixes as Bengal ended on 629 with a lead of 334 runs. Shaik Rasheed picked up a four-wicket haul for Andhra. With a massive deficit ahead of them, Andhra struggled in the second innings as well losing three wickets for 64 runs. All of Andhra's hopes now sit with Ricky Bhui and Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Jammu and Kashmir scripted history by reaching their first semi-final in the Ranji Trophy after beating Madhya Pradesh by 56 runs in Indore. Having reduced MP to 76/5 overnight, Auqib Nabi Dar continued from his three-wicket haul to pick two more and end with match figures of 12 for 110. Saransh Jain put up a valiant 64 but he was the only hope for MP. J&K will now play the winner of the Andhra vs Bengal contest.
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