Internet Desk: Kerala created history today by entering their maiden quarter finals of the Ranji Trophy 2017-18 season. They joined Gujarat from Group B.
Defending champions Gujarat will face Bengal while 41-time winners Mumbai will lock horns with Karnataka in the quarterfinals. Gujarat thrashed Jharkhand by 10 wickets after left-arm spinner Hardik Patel starred with the ball with an impressive four-wicket haul to help his side top the group.
At Eden Gardens, Anustup Majumdar struck a second century in the match as Bengal batsmen made merry to draw their Ranji Trophy group D match against Goa to advance into the quarterfinals.
Resuming on 108 for three, Bengal, who had a first innings lead of 69 runs, lost Abhimanyu Easwaran (21) and Shreevats Goswami (20) cheaply.
But Majumdar held fort and followed up his first innings century with an unbeaten 108 (183 balls; 11×4), while Writtick Chatterjee also matched his partner with a 102 not out as Bengal declared their second innings for 334 for five.
Chasing an impossible 404 target on the final day, Goa were 86 for two in their second essay at close as Bengal progressed into the quarterfinals on basis of their first innings lead with 23 points from six matches.
The line-up for the knockouts, which will be played from December 7-11, was finalised after the conclusion of the league matches across various venues today.
Delhi, who finished second in Group A after their game against Hyderabad ended in a draw, will meet Madhya Pradesh in their last-eight clash.
Delhi picked up three points from the game by virtue of taking the first innings lead at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
In Rohtak, Kerala picked up an innings and eight-run win against Haryana to join Gujarat in the quarterfinals.
The match between Mumbai and Karnataka will be telecast live.
Quarterfinals line-up:
Gujarat v Bengal in Jaipur
Delhi v MPCA in Vijaywada
Kerala v Vidarbha in Surat
Karnataka v Mumbai in Nagpur
Brief Scores
In Kolkata: Bengal 379 and 334/5 declared; 80.5 overs (Anustup Majumdar 108 not out, Writtick Chatterjee 102 not out).
Goa 310 and 86/2; 26 overs (Snehal Kauthankar 53 not out; Ashoke Dinda 2/13). Match drawn
In Amritsar: Punjab 645/6 declared and 94/5; 6.1 overs (Sachidanand Pandey 3/26).
Services 315 and 458 (Rahul Singh Gahlaut 124, Ravi Chauhan 112; Siddharth Kaul 3/96). Match drawn.
In Nagpur: Himachal Pradesh 353 and 323/8 declared; 96.1 overs (N R Gangta 101 not out, S L Verma 59, Rishi Dhawan 53; Aditya Sarvate 6/75).
Vidarbha 456. Match drawn.