Ranji Trophy Highlights, Quarter-Finals Day 4: J&K, KAR Through To SFs; Gharami Misses Triple Ton By Whisker

Good morning, cricket fans! Welcome to the live coverage of Day 4 of Ranji Trophy 2025-26 which is being played across multiple venues across India. Stay tuned with us for the live coverage and real-time updates of the match.

• Mumbai 120, 377 vs Karnataka 173, 113/2*

• Madhya Pradesh 152, 87/5* vs Jammu and Kashmir 194, 248

• Bengal 418/6* vs Andhra 295

The only quarter-final that ended on Day 3 was the one between Jharkhand and Uttarakhand, in which UTK won by an innings and six runs and qualified for the semi-finals.

Sudip and Shakir have resumed their brilliant eighth-wicket partnership, with Bengal reaching 436/6 inside the 151st over. Sudip Kumar Gharami has been superb, and is batting at 231 off 468 balls.

First wicket of Day 4 as Karun Nair is trapped on the pads by Shardul, and the all-rounder departs after a disappointing 13 off 32 balls. Smaran comes out as the new batter as Karnata's second innings is at 132/3, needing 185 more to win.

Madhya Pradesh lose their sixth wicket in the second innings, with the scorecard reading 127/6 after 38 overs. Captain and star batter Venkatesh Iyer goes for just 17 after being caught by Wadhawan off Sunil's delivery. Shubham Sharma and Saransh Jain at the crease as MP need 164 more to win.

Sudip Kumar Gharami brings 250, this guy looks unstoppable. Are we going to witness a 300 today? Meanwhile, AP bowlers look completely clueless. Gharami has also stiched a 160-plus stand with Shakir Habib Gandhi for the seventh wicket.

KL Rahul brings up a hard-earned century and there’s a streak of luck about it! He throws his hands at a cut, the ball grips and darts back in, takes the thinnest inside edge and runs away past the keeper to the boundary. For a moment it looked like he might chop on again, but fortune finally favours him. Up goes the bat, relief etched across his face. The partnership with Smaran has grown to 90 now, a superb recovery effort considering Karnataka were reeling at 20/3, and this stand has hauled them firmly back into the contest.

KAR 215/3 (47.3)

Karnataka's second innings scorecard reads 257/3 inside the 55th over, needing just 68 more to win. Rahul has led the line from the front, batting at 125 off 170 balls. Smaran has played the perfect foil, reaching his half-century and batting at 61 off just 71.

Gharami (271*) and Gandhi (88*) have built up a 200-run partnership as Bengal reach 518/6 inside the 182nd over. The lead now stands at 223 runs, and Bengal will look to increase that figure with anything but a draw out of the cards.

Mumbai lose their sixth wicket of the day as Kruthik is stumped by Akash off Kotian's ball. Vidyadhar Patil is the new batter, while Smaran at the other end is batting at 77. At the end of the 67th over, Mumbai are at 292/6, needing just 33 runs more to win.

Yudhveer castles the stumps of Aryan Pandey, and the tail-ender departs for 22. That wraps up the Madhya Pradesh innings for 234, and Jammu and Kashmir win by 56 runs and qualify for the semi-finals. They will face either Bengal or Andhra.

Heartbreak for Sudip Gharami! On 299, one run away from a monumental triple hundred, he’s cleaned up by Shaikh Rasheed. After facing a staggering 596 deliveries against Andhra, an innings of immense patience and endurance, it ends in cruel fashion. He becomes the first Indian, and only the third player in First-Class history, to fall one short of 300. Agony written all over his face; what should have been pure celebration turns into one of cricket’s most painful near-misses.

Karnataka seal a semi-final spot after chasing down 312 in a nervy finish. A late wobble threatened to derail them, but Vidyadhar Patil’s calm 31* and R Smaran’s unbeaten 81 carried them home with a crucial unbroken stand. Earlier, KL Rahul’s 130 had set up the chase, and despite the drama, that knock proved decisive in the end.

Mohammed Shami hits a quickfire fifty (53 off 33) and is the last man to be dismissed as Bengal finish with a mammoth 629-run total. Having amassed a 334-run first-innings lead, Akash Deep then castles Abhishek Reddy for 5 in the sixth over to rock Andhra early.

AP: 33/1 (12)

Andhra's other opener, CR Gnaneshwar, is also clean bowled. Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal with the strike as Bengal keep getting into a stronger position than before. Andhra have eight wickets in hand and still need 289 runs to make Bengal bat again.

Shaik Rasheed is the third and last Andhra batter to fall in the day. The 21-year-old is stumped by Habib Gandhi off Shahbaz Ahmed's bowling and Bengal finish Day 4 firmly in the driver's seat. Andhra trail by 270 runs and even if they survive the whole day, Bengal would advance to the semi-finals by virtue of their huge first-innings lead.

AP: 64/3 (24)