Mumbai needed only 21.1 overs of their fourth innings to smash their way to a comprehensive 10-wicket win over Himachal Pradesh on the fourth day of their Ranji Trophy elite group tie at the Wankhede on Tuesday

Staff Reporter29-Jan-2003Mumbai needed only 21.1 overs of their fourth innings to smash their way to a comprehensive 10-wicket win over Himachal Pradesh on the fourth day of their Ranji Trophy elite group tie at the Wankhede on Tuesday.Himachal Pradesh resumed the fourth day on 282 for seven, with Rajiv Nayyar continuing his lone struggle on 52. He was the first to fall, however, adding only two to his overnight score before succumbing to Paras Mhambrey. The final two batsmen could not score at all, and Mumbai bowled out their opponents for 287, setting themselves a victory target of 126.In belligerent mood, Vinayak Mane and Wasim Jaffer spurred their team to a win in 21.1 overs. Mane was the more aggressive, taking only 81 balls to get to 72, with 11 fours and one six. Jaffer struck seven fours in his 51-ball knock of 47.Bengal play out fourth day for drawRealising perhaps that the victory target of 339 was out of their reach, Bengal opted to play for a draw on the final day of their Ranji Trophy elite group match against Delhi, achieving it comfortably in the end and picking up one point – as opposed to Delhi’s none – from the tie.The visitors were helped in no small manner by the rain, which delayed the start of the day’s play till 1:15 p.m. Once play started, Delhi tried their best to pick up wickets, but Nikhil Haldipur, with a stolid 32 off 96 balls, saw out the initial threat. Skipper Rohan Gavaskar and Debang Gandhi hit unbeaten knocks of 32 and 26 respectively – strokefilled ones, considering the situation – and saw their side through safely to the close of play.Tamil Nadu-Assam tie meanders to tame drawTamil Nadu reaped the sole point on offer as their Ranji Trophy elite group tie against Assam at Guwahati meandered to a predictable draw on the final day.Assam, starting the day on 304 for five, managed to reach 468 before being bowled out. Captain Sukhvinder Singh hit 79 off 187 balls, with 13 fours, keeping L Balaji and Co. at bay long enough to ensure that his side would not lose the match.In their second innings, Tamil Nadu reached 57 for one in 20 overs before stumps, with skipper S Suresh being the sole casualty of the innings.