A round-up of the fourth and final day's play of the Ranji Trophy Super League matches on Monday.
Delhi thump Saurashtra
Parvinder Awana recorded his second five-wicket haul of the match while teammate Shikhar Dhawan tore apart Saurashtra's attack as a domineering Delhi thumped the hosts by 10 wickets in Rajkot to keep alive their hopes for a berth in the knock out stage of the Ranji Trophy.
Chasing a target of 132 runs for an outright win in 27 overs, Delhi openers Dhawan (84) and skipper Aakash Chopra (42) reached the mark in just 21 overs and the six points they pocketed, including one bonus point, would keep alive their hopes to qualify for the knockout phase of the tournament.
Dropped by Chirag Pathak off Balkrishna Jadeja when he had scored only one run, Dhawan completed his fifty off just 29 balls with five fours and two sixes. At the other end, Chopra proved impregnable for the Saurashtra bowlers.
Earlier, resuming at their overnight score of 46-2, the hosts' hopes to salvage a draw were shattered by a superb piece of bowling by Parvinder Awana. Awana, who had earned a five-wicket haul in the first innings, first removed Sitanshu Kotak (18) and then struck again to dismiss the in-form Cheteshwar Pujara (25) to the leave the hosts tottering at 83-4, still behind by 87 runs.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja rescued the hosts with a sublime 143 that came off just 166 balls with the help of 22 fours. However, his century went in vain as none of the other batsmen showed the same spirit and the hosts eventually were bowled out for 274.
For Delhi, Awana took five wickets for 77 runs while his new ball partner Sumit Narwal finished with figures of 2-58.
With this win, Delhi now have 17 points while Saurashtra have 18.
Brief scores: Saurashtra 241 and 274 (Ravindra Jadeja 143, Parvinder Awana five for 77) lost to Delhi 384 and 132 for no loss (Shikar Dhawan 84 not out, Aakash Chopra 42 not out).
Punjab thump Hyderabad
An unbeaten 197-run partnership between centurion Ravi Inder Singh (112) and Sunny Sohal (91) helped Punjab register a thumping nine-wicket win over Hyderabad on the final day of the Group A match in Hyderabad on Monday.
Chasing a target of 209 runs in their second innings, Punjab lost opener Karan Goel for just three runs with 14 runs on board but Ravi Inder and Sohal batted patiently to get past the target in just 36.2 overs.
Ravi Inder faced 143 deliveries for his knock of 112, which included a dozen boundaries while Sohal scored his 91 off just 100 deliveries with eight fours.
With this win Punjab earned full five points from the match.
Earlier, Punjab bowlers Sarabjit Singh Ladda and Varun Khanna wrecked havoc on the hosts camp, and bundling them out for a paltry 164 in the second innings. Ladda picked up five wickets, while Khanna scalped three.
Resuming at the overnight score of 68 for 2, Hyderabad batsmen S Anoop Pai (50) and Anmol Shinde (43) steadied the innings, before falling in quick succession.
Struggling at 111 for three, the remaining Hyderabad batsmen added just 53 runs to set Punjab a victory target of 209 runs.
Three of the Hyderabad batsmen including A S Yadav, SM Shoaib and AS Shanker were unable to open their accounts.
Hyderabad in their first innings had scored 335 runs while Punjab scored 291 runs giving the hosts a lead of 44 runs, but it was Punjab which had the last laugh.
Brief scores: Hyderabad 335 and 164 (S Anoop Pai 50, Sarabjit Singh Ladda five for 39, Varun Khanna three for 38) lost to Punjab 291 and 211 for one (Ravi Inder Singh 112, Sunny Sohal 91).
Maharashtra draw with Railways
Kedar Chavan's unbeaten century helped Maharashtra stave off Railways' bid for outright victory in their Group B match at the Chattrapati Shivaji Stadium, in Ratnagiri.
Chavan was at the crease for 340 minutes for his unbeaten 114 that included 15 fours and a six.
And it was match-saving fourth-wicket partnership of 143 runs with Ankit Bawne (52) that ensured three points for the hosts who had taken a 32-run lead over Railways.
At stumps on the final day, Maharashtra were 252 for five with Chavan, who faced 252 balls, and Rohit Motwani (1) at the crease.
Earlier, the visitors fancied their hopes of turning the match around capturing the top three Maharashtra wickets with only 84 on board after the home team resumed their second innings at the overnight score of 34 without loss chasing 303 for victory.
But Chavan and Bawne, who struck only three fours in his 165-ball knock, stalled their progress.
The draw helped Maharashtra boost their tally to seven points with one match in hand in the seven-match group while Railways stayed fourth with eleven points from five ties.
Brief scores: Railways 212 and 334 for six declared drew Maharashtra 244 and 252 for five (Kedar Chavan 114 not out, Ankit Bawne 52).
UP draw against Karnataka
Piyush Chawla missed a century by four runs but Uttar Pradesh managed to overcome Karnataka's first innings total of 511 and ensure three points in the drawn Group B match at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
The visitors, riding centuries by Tanmay Srivastava and Mohammad Kaif, amassed 567 on the final day of the encounter.
Brief scores: Karnataka 511 drew Uttar Pradesh 567 (Tanmay Srivastava 159, Mohammad Kaif 112, Piyush Chawla 96, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 55, Amir Khan 47, N C Aiyappa 3 for 108, Vinay Kumar 3 for 110).
