Ranji Trophy 2012-13: UP beat Tamil Nadu by 195 runs

Chennai: Left-arm spinners Praveen Gupta and Ali Murtaza shared seven wickets between them to help Uttar Pradesh script a massive 195-run victory over Tamil Nadu on the final day of their Ranji Trophy Group B match here.

Chasing a improbable target of 421 run to win on the final day, Tamil Nadu failed to capitalise on a good start given by their openers Abhinav Mukund (54) and Murali Vijay (24). While Praveen ended with figures of four for 95, while Murtaza grabbed three for 62. After the fall of the first wicket on 67, Tamil Nadu lost wickets at regular intervals and could not stitch substantial partnerships to salvage points for their side from the tie, as they were bowled out for 225 runs in 65 overs. Right-hand batsman Arun Karthik (70) scored the highest for the hosts. His half-century knock comprised of seven boundaries and two sixes. Murtaza finished with career-best match figures of 10 for 142 runs, and scored 116 runs including a century in the first innings. With this, Uttar Pradesh remain unbeaten and are on top of the table with 27 points with three wins and four draws. Tamil Nadu are third from bottom after suffering their first loss of the season. Tamil Nadu have 13 points from seven matches. Brief Scores: Uttar Pradesh: 392 & 207 Tamil Nadu: 179 & 225 all out in 65 overs (Arun Karthik 70, Abhinav Mukund 54; Praveen Gupta 4/95) Points: Uttar Pradesh 6, Tamil Nadu 0. PTI