JAIPUR:Tamil Nadu sailed into the Ranji Trophy semifinals on Friday by virtue of their 144-run first innings lead over Vidarbha in the quarterfinal which ended in a draw at Sawai Man Singh Stadium.
Vidarbha, outplayed by Tamil Nadu, were left with a near impossible victory target of 411. They were 142 for eight in their second essay when umpires called off the match after talking to both captains. Tamil Nadu were already assured of a place in the last four after they made a solid 403 in first innings and then bundled out Vidarbha for 259 to snatch a significant first innings lead which proved decisive.
Tamil Nadu resumed at 193 for six but Swapnil Bandiwar, Ravikumar Thakur and Rakesh Dhurv restricted them to 266. Vidarbha were staring at outright defeat when they lost four wickets, including that of skipper S Badrinath, for 68. But an unbeaten 59 by Ganesh Satish and useful knocks by Shalabh Shrivastava and Dhurv saved them the blushes. Baba Aparajith (3/41) was the most successful bowler.
Mumbai Prevail
Mumbai bowlers, led by pace spearhead Shardul Thakur, rose to the challenge to help them trounce Delhi by 204 runs and enter the semis, in Cuttack. Medium-pacer Balwinder Sandhu bagged three of the six wickets that fell on the final day.
Last 4 line-ups: (Feb 25-Mar 1): TN vs Maharashtra, Karnataka vs Mumbai.