Himachal hold on for draw

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 7

Himachal Pradesh safely played out the final day to earn a point from their draw against Railways in the Ranji Trophy Group B match in Delhi today.

Starting Day 4 at 24/0 and still trailing Railways by 238 runs, HP lost both their openers, Ankush Bains (2) and Prashant Chopra (37) early on. No. 4 batsman Amit Kumar scored 71 off 125 balls and added solid partnerships with No. 3 Akash Vashist (26) and captain Ankit Kalsi (27 not out) to see the day out. Only the top five teams from the combined Group A and B make the quarterfinals. Two teams go through from Group C, while one team moves ahead from the Plate Group. With one match to play, HP are out of contention for the knockouts, Punjab and Haryana are still in the mix, while J&K have virtually sealed a knockout berth.

Mumbai out, Gujarat, Saurashtra qualify

Gujarat and Saurashtra qualified for the knockouts, but Mumbai were knocked out. Kerala will be relegated to Group C next season.

Brief Scores: Himachal Pradesh: 283 & 165/3 (Amit 71); Railways: 545/7 decl.