725-run win for Mumbai breaks 92-yr-old record

Bengaluru, June 9: Domestic giants Mumbai on Thursday broke the world record for highest margin of victory in the history of first-class cricket as they crushed minnows Uttarakhand by a staggering 725 runs on the fourth day of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal here and stormed into the semifinals.

Mumbai broke New South Wales’ 92-yearold Sheffield Shield record when they beat Queensland by 685 runs.

In the Ranji Trophy, the previous record for highest margin for victory was held by Bengal, who had defeated Odisha by 540 runs in 1953-54.

Mumbai’s world record comes a day after Bengal broke a

129-year-old one with all their nine batters scoring half-century in a single innings against Jharkhand in another quarter-final.

Mumbai will now meet Uttar Pradesh in the semi-final of the prestigious domestic competition.

The 41-time Ranji Trophy champions, who dominated right

from the first-day, declared their second innings at 261/3 and thus set Uttarakhand an improbable 794-run target.

They had piled up 647/8 declared in their first essay, riding on maiden double hundred from debutant Suved Parkar (252).

Uttarakhand who were bundled out for partly 114 in their first essay, once again capitulated in front of the Mumbai bowlers, as they were bundled out for just 69 in the second innings.

In Alur, Karnataka, spinner Kumar Kartikeya carried on with his brilliant bowling display and spun a web around the Punjab batters as Madhya

Pradesh cruised into the semi-finals with a

10-wicket victory. Kartikeya scalped 6 for 50, his second-best bowling figures in First Class cricket, with another spinner Saransh Jain playing perfect second fiddle, claiming 4 for 100, as Punjab folded for a paltry 203 in the second innings.

Punjab resumed play on day four at 120 for 5, still 58 adrift of their opponent to make them bat again.

After a failure from the top order once again, wicket-keeper batter Anmol Malhotra

(34) and Siddharth Kaul

(31) began the day cautiously and steadily, and it appeared the duo would help Punjab take a respectable lead.