Saurashtra, despite a loss in the final round game to Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh on Friday advanced to the knockout stage of the Ranji Trophy from Group B after the Mumbai-Maharashtra game ended in an exciting draw.
Though Saurashtra, Andhra and Maharashtra finished equal on 26 points after the seven rounds of the league phase, the first two teams entered the quarterfinals while Maharashtra missed out because it did not gain any bonus point.
Andhra, which had been on 19 points before the final round match against Assam, routed their opponent by an innings to gain a bonus point which helped them pip Maharashtra.
Mumbai, which was in the reckoning but needed to win or secure a first innings lead to grab three points and reach 26 points, managed only 1 after a tie with Maharashtra on the first innings score of 374 in the final round match.
In Chennai, left-arm spinner S Ajith Ram came up with a six-wicket haul to propel Tamil Nadu to a 59-run win over Saurashtra.
Needing 266 for victory, the visiting team was bowled out for 206 in 68.2 overs as Harvik Desai's marathon knock of 101 (205 balls, 10 fours, 3 sixes) went in vain.
Elsewhere, Hyderabad succumbed to a nine-wicket defeat to Delhi to end a dismal season with six straight defeats after a draw against TN in the opening game. Hyderabad will be relegated to the Plate group next season.
MP, Punjab advance
Ahmedabad: Defending champions Madhya Pradesh and Punjab qualified for the quarter-finals after finishing in the top two positions in Group D following a draw in their respective matches.
While holders MP folded for 331 to concede a first-innings lead to Tripura, Punjab didn't get to bat as Vidarbha ended their first innings on the fourth day at 273 for six following loss of play due to bad weather.
The draw, however, wouldn't hurt MP as they finished at the top of Group D table with 33 points from seven matches. Punjab (27) and Railways (22) ended at second and third spots respectively.
On day four, medium pacer Rana Dutta completed a five-wicket haul as Tripura dismissed holders Madhya Pradesh for 331 in their first innings to grab three points on the basis of first-innings lead.
The 33-year-old emerged as the most successful bowler as MP could add another 172 runs to their overnight score of 159 for 2 to hand Tripura a crucial 31-run first-innings lead.
Odisha thrash Bengal
Kolkata: Odisha created a big upset, defeating Bengal by seven wickets on the final day of their Group A match, with pace bowler Sunil Roul wrecking the hosts' batting lineup by taking six wickets.
Though Bengal had secured a quarter-final berth in the previous round itself, the loss on Friday at the Eden Gardens ahead of the knockout round would have dampened their spirits somewhat.
Uttarakhand became the second team behind Bengal (32 points) to move into the quarter-finals after their match against Haryana ended in a draw. Uttarakhand earned three points, owing to their first-innings lead to take their tally to 29 points.
Bengal will take on Jharkhand in the first quarter-final, while Uttarakhand will play Karnataka on January 31.
Odisha first dismissed Bengal for 276 in 79 overs, thanks to 24-year-old Roul's six-wicket haul. The visitors' batters then returned for the second innings to quickly overhaul the 112-run winning target in the 23rd over.
Jharkhand in last 8
Puducherry: Jharkhand became the second team behind Karnataka to sail into the quarter-finals from Group C after the match between Kerala and Puducherry ended in a draw and Services thrashed Rajasthan by 183 runs.
While Karnataka had already secured a last-eight berth following the penultimate round of Ranji matches, Jharkhand had to wait till the last day of the seventh and final round of group matches, which concluded on Friday, to know their fate.
On Thursday, Jharkhand had lost to Karnataka by nine wickets and their players would have been edgy all day long on Friday as their fate was to be decided by the Kerala-Puducherry and Services-Rajasthan matches.
Luckily for Jharkhand, both results went in their favour and they will take on Bengal in the quarter-finals, while Group C toppers Karnataka will play Uttarakhand in the last-eight.