Ranji Trophy: Himachal inch closer towards knock-out qualification

Agartala: Himachal Pradesh failed to force an outright win despite getting 20 Tripura wickets due to lack of time but inched closer towards sealing a quarter-final berth in the Ranji Trophy cricket tournament here on Saturday.

HP are currently placed second in the group with 27 points with Assam already through to the next stage with 35 points.

Having scored a mammoth 535 for five in their first innings, HP bowled out domestic cricket's permanent whipping boys Tripura for 346 thereby taking a 189 run lead and enforcing the follow-on.

Starting the final day at 20 for no loss, Tripura were all out for 239 in their second innings with slender overall lead of 40 runs. However the home team batsmen had done enough to thwart the Rishi Dhawan (4/92)-led seam attack for enough time that only two overs of play was left in the day.

HP's nearest rival is Andhra, who are five points behind at 22 points and need to win with bonus points against Goa in order to qualify. HP can qualify if they can manage three points against Hyderabad in their last game.

Brief Scores: HP 535/5 decl. Tripura 346 and (f/0) 239 (Rishi Dhawan 4/92). Points: HP 3; Tripura 1.