New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir made it to the quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy despite suffering a two-wicket defeat at the hands of Haryana in their final Group C match here on Saturday.
The Parvez Rasool-led J&K team qualified for the last eight despite the defeat after finishing on top of the group with 39 points. Odisha also advanced to the knockout stage as the second-placed team from the group, with 38 points, following a draw in their final fixture against Jharkhand.
Resuming at 103 for 5 in pursuit of 224 for a win, Haryana lost the wicket of Ajit Chahal for the addition of only four runs to the overnight score.
Haryana suffered another jolt when captain Harshal Patel (5) was castled by Rasool. Wicketkeeper-batsman Rohit Sharma (75 off 141 balls, 6 fours, 1 six) then found a resolute partner in Jayant Yadav (13) as the duo added 64 runs for the eighth wicket.
Later, Sharma and Rahul Tewatia (27 not out, 3 fours, 1 six) put on 44 runs for the ninth wicket to take Haryana home.
However, the win was not enough for Haryana to qualify for the quarterfinal as it finished third in the group behind J&K and Odisha with 36 points.
