Ranji Trophy: Padikkal's brisk ton powers Karnataka into quarters

Best bowling performances

Andhra's Truparana Vijay added a five-wicket haul to a fifty he scored earlier in the game to round-off an all-round performance against Nagaland. The game ended in a draw, with Nagaland being bowled out at the Lunch interval before Andhra made 64/4 chasing 173. Despite the result, Andhra have qualified for the quarters - despite being tied on points with Vidarbha and Jharkhand - on Net Run Rate. Nagaland, on the other hand, ended their campaign at the bottom of the table, and have been relegated.

Jharkhand's Anukul Roy claimed figures of 5-72 and scored a crucial 45, setting up his team's four-wicket win over Odisha. Requiring 246 runs to win on the final day, sixties from Sharandeep Singh and Robin Minz laid the foundation before a 43-run stand between Aditya Singh and Anukul sealed the win. With this win, Jharkhand topped Group A, and made it to the quarterfinals.

Mayank Mishra finished with impressive match figures of 9 for 122 after claiming a six-wicket haul in the second innings to set up Uttarakhand's innings-and-42-run win over Assam, and secure their qualification to the quarterfinals. He completed his five-wicket haul early on the fourth day by dismissing Swarupam Purkayastha and later accounted for Rohit Singh. Assam finished with only four points in the group stage.

MD Nidheesh claimed a five-wicket haul, blowing apart Goa's top-order in their second innings to set up a nine-wicket win for Kerala in the inconsequential encounter. Nidheesh began by dismissing both openers and completed his fifer by dismissing Samar Shravan Dubhashi.

Mahesh Pithiya returned figures of 6 for 118 in Baroda's drawn contest against Tamil Nadu. He provided crucial breakthroughs, breaking both a 125-run opening stand and a 144-run second-wicket partnership, as Baroda fought for a first-innings lead but were unsuccessful. Tamil Nadu ended their campaign at the sixth spot on the points table.

Best batting performances

Amandeep Khare finished unbeaten on 176 in Chattisgarh's drawn rubber against Hyderabad. Having conceded a first-innings lead and with not enough time to force a result, Chhattisgarh batted through the fourth day, with Khare breaching 150 shortly after Tea. Both teams finished with only one victory each this season.

Delhi skipper Ayush Doseja finished unbeaten on 159 as his team drew with Mumbai, who finished as table toppers. His innings included 11 fours and two sixes. Delhi batted through the final day, adding 201 runs before the teams shook hands.

Skipper Devdutt Padikkal struck a defining 120 not-out helping Karnataka clinch a five-wicket win in a must-win encounter against Punjab and seal progression to the quarterfinals, edging past Saurashtra and Maharashtra narrowly. Set 250 to win with less than two sessions remaining on the final day, Padikkal batted with exemplary intent, striking six fours and five sixes. Karnataka reached the target in just 27.5 overs with Mayank Agarwal also scoring a brisk half-century.