Ranji Trophy 2022 Semi-Final: Yashavi Jaiswal, Armaan Jaffer tons take Mumbai closer to final

Bengaluru: A dominant Mumbai rode on impressive hundreds from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Armaan Jaffer to put Uttar Pradesh on the back-foot by taking their overall lead past the 600-mark on the fourth day of their Ranji Trophy semi-final here on Friday. It was a run-feast on day four as the two batted with authority and it is almost certain now that the 41-time Ranji Trophy winners would sail into the summit clash. The Amol Mazumdar coached side, in their second essay, was poised at 449 for four when stumps were drawn and had an overall lead of staggering 662 runs.

Jaiswal (181), who has hit his maiden hundred in the quarter-final, slammed back-to-back centuries in the current one, as he and Jaffer (127), bulldozed a list-less Uttar Pradesh attack. Mumbai, which already had a lead of 346 runs, began on their overnight score of 133 for one.

.@ybj_19 (181) & Armaan Jaffer (127) completed superb tons as Mumbai ended Day 4 of the @Paytm #RanjiTrophy #SF2 against Uttar Pradesh at 449/4. _ _ #MUMvUP

Watch the highlights _ _https://t.co/gAN6BmSogL pic.twitter.com/X4tpzCYjQ8 — BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) June 17, 2022

And it was sheer dominance by their young batting duo of Jaiswal and Jaffer, who would surely have made his uncle Wasim proud, by his stellar performance. The two young Mumbai batters, who started the day when they were in their 30s, pummelled the UP attack into submission with a variety of strokes on display in their 286-run stand for the second wicket.

It was raining boundaries at the Just Cricket Academy as Jaiswal hammered 23 fours and one maximum in his 372-ball innings, while Jaffer smashed 15 fours and two sixes in his 259-ball knock. Uttar Pradesh had to wait long for getting the first-wicket of the day and pacer Shivam Mavi (1/36) dismissed Jaffer in the 107th over of the innings, to break the mammoth stand. But that did not deter Jaiswal, who kept playing shots at will and spared no bowler. Jaiswal missed a richly deserved double-hundred as he was caught by Aryan Juval off Price Yadav (2/69).

Shahbaz Ahmed & captain Abhimanyu Easwaran put up fine performances but Madhya Pradesh limited Bengal to 96/4 before Stumps on Day 4 of the @Paytm #RanjiTrophy #SF1. _ _ #BENvMP

Here's how the action unfolded _ _https://t.co/ZlonJfL7zq pic.twitter.com/SmE9HFvXXa — BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) June 17, 2022

Abhimanyu, Shahbaz keep Bengal in hunt but MP firm favourites to reach final

Skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran's unbeaten 52 after Shahbaz Ahmed's superb all-round show gave Bengal a glimmer of hope even as Madhya Pradesh firmly held the upper-hand on the penultimate day of the Ranji Trophy semi-final on Friday. On a difficult fourth day pitch, the India A batter looked flawless and milked the field at ease, slamming six fours in his 104-ball knock as Bengal were precariously placed at 96 for 4, needing another 254 runs to reach the stiff winning target of 350.

Madhya Pradesh, on the other hand, need six wickets in pursuit of their first Ranji final after 23 years as the match is headed for a thrilling final day finish on Saturday.
Mumbai Indians' left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya did the maximum damage for Madhya Pradesh. He held on to his end, bowling 19 overs non-stop to end the day with figures of 3/35 to jump to joint-second in the top wicket-takers' list this season with Jharkhand's Shabaz Nadeem (25).

With PTI inputs