A stunning late collapse by Jharkhand paved the way for Uttarakhand’s innings victory in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals at the Keenan Stadium in Jamshedpur on Sunday.
Jharkhand looked well placed at 100 for two after tea on the third day, before losing their last eight wickets in just 30 runs as Uttarakhand sealed their first place in the Ranji Trophy semi-final.
Skipper Virat Singh and Kumar Kushagra were the only two batsmen to reach double figures for Jharkhand in their weak batting outing.
Pacer Abhay Negi and left-arm spinner Mayank Mishra were the leading smashers for Uttarakhand, claiming four and five wickets respectively.
Negi, in fact, had a productive day overall, having earlier scored a vital 46 that inflated Uttarakhand’s first innings lead to 136.
The right-arm quick then got the ball rolling by having the two home openers, Shikhar Mohan and Sharandeep Singh, caught behind with his clever outswingers.
Mayank began his run by trapping Virat at slip and then trapped Robin Minz in front off the next ball. Negi who soon returned trapped Kushagra as Jharkhand continued to sink.
The home lower order could not put up much of a fight against Mayank’s astute left-arm spin as he moved to 52 wickets for the season with his 10th First-Class five.
Earlier in the day, Negi was the only visiting batsman who managed to counter a resurgent performance by the Jharkhand bowlers. The 33-year-old all-rounder was attentive to the moving ball and preferred to play it late to keep the score.
Meanwhile, Jharkhand worked its way to the other end. Negi was the last man to fall after being bowled by pacer Jatin Pandey.
If Jharkhand harbored any hopes of making a second innings revival, they would soon be extinguished by the combined force of Negi and Mayank.
The scores: Jharkhand – 1st innings: 235.
Uttarakhand – 1st entry: Avneesh Sudha lbw Manishi 64, Bhupen Lalwani c Sharandeep b Shekhar 24, Kunal Chandela b Pandey 68, Lakshya Raichandani b Raj 7, J Suchith c (sub) Suraj b Shekhar 70, Saurabh Rawat c (sub) Pankaj b Aditya 32, Shashwat Dangwal lbw Raj 14, Abhay Negi b Pandey 46, Mayank Mishra lbw Aditya 13, Aditya Rawat lbw Om 1, Janmejay Joshi (not out) 4; Extras: (lb-9, nb-3, w-5, b-11): 28; Total (in 122.3 overs): 371.
Falling windows: 1-41, 2-140, 3-158, 4-190, 5-254, 6-287, 7-322, 8-349, 9-357.
Bowling in Jharkhand: Pandey 27.3-4-72-2, Raj 22-6-59-2, Shekhar 25-5-75-2, Manishi 20-3-62-1, Om 11-0-26-1, Aditya 17-1-57-2.
Jharkhand – 2nd entry: Shikhar Mohan c Saurabh b Negi 2, Sharandeep Singh c Saurabh b Negi 8, Kumar Kushagra c Sudha b Negi 34, Virat Singh c Sudha b Mishra 55, Robin Minz lbw Mishra 0, Aditya Singh c Saurabh b Aditya 9, Sahil Raj c Saurabh b Negi 6, Manishi c Dangwal b Mishra 9, Ishan Om c Sudha b Mishra 0, Jatin Pandey c Dangwal b Mishra 0, Saurabh (not out) 4; Extras: (lb-2, b-1): 3; Total (in 41.1 overs): 130.
Falling windows: 1-5, 2-14, 3-100, 4-100, 5-100, 115-6, 7-126, 8-126, 9-126.
Uttarakhand Bowling: Joshi 5-0-30-0, Negi 13-2-36-4, Aditya 9-0-34-1, Mishra 13.1-5-22-5, Suchith 1-0-5-0.
Result: Uttarakhand won by one innings and six runs.
PoM: Mayank Mishra.
Published – February 8, 2026 07:43 pm IST
