Tamil Nadu skipper R. Sai Kishore stole the spotlight, this time with the ball, as his four-wicket haul helped his side thrash Saurashtra by an innings and 33 runs on Day III of their Ranji Trophy quarter final here on Sunday.

As a result, Tamil Nadu became the first team to enter the semi-finals this season, which will be played on March 2.

Tamil Nadu, scoring 338, managed to take a lead of 155 runs against Saurahstra’s 183, thanks to some commendable knocks from Sai Kishore (60), Baba Indrajith (80) and Boopathi Kumar (65).

Saurashtra began their second innings on a nervous note, losing three wickets for 48 runs, with Sandeep Warrier getting two of their top-order batters out cheaply.

The pair of Cheteshwar Pujara (46) and Arpit Vasavada (20) managed to stitch a 55-run stand for the fourth wicket and tried to bring Saurashtra back on track. But Mohamed Ali managed to get rid of Vasavada and then the floodgates were opened.

Saurashtra batters thereon were all dismissed for single-digit figures. Eventually, the entire Saurashtra side were shot out for 122.

Vidharbha in control

Yash Thakur and Aditya Sarwate shone bright as Vidarbha moved into a commanding position against Karnataka after swelling their lead to 224 runs on the third day of their quarter-final match.

Sarwate (3/50) and pacer Thakur (3/48) shared six wickets equally among them as Karnataka were bundled out for 286 in their first innings. It helped the hosts take a huge innings lead of 174 runs.

SUMMARISED SCORES
In Coimbatore: Saurashtra 183 & 122 (Cheteshwar Pujara 46; Sai Kishore 4/27). Tamil Nadu 338. Tamil Nadu won by an innings and 33 runs.

In Nagpur: Vidarbha 460 & 50/0. Karnataka 286 (Nikin Jose 82; Yash Thakur 3/48, Aditya Sarwate 3/50)

In Indore: Madhya Pradesh 234 & 107 (Nithish Kumar Reddy 4/28). Andhra 172 & 95/4 (Hanuma Vihari 43 n.o.).

In Mumbai: Mumbai 384 & 21/1. Baroda 348 (Shashwat Rawat 124, Vishnu Solanki 136; Shams Mulani 4/121).

(With inputs from PTI)