Registering a win over Andhra Pradesh in their Ranji one-day tie at Bangalore, Tamil Nadu topped the points table for the South Zone, consequently lifting the Subbaiah Pillai Trophy and qualifying for the Wills Trophy 2003-04.

Tamil Nadu topped with 19 points (played five, won four, lost one), while Karnataka and Hyderabad followed with 18 and 13 points respectively. Goa, in spite of registering two bonus-point wins, could only manage 10 points, while Kerala was fifth with eight. Andhra Pradesh, with no wins from their five games, brought up the tail.

At the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore, Andhra Pradesh's woes continued as Tamil Nadu cantered to a seven-wicket win in just 34 overs, chasing down their target of 244 with minimum effort. Batting first after losing the toss, Andhra Pradesh actually faired well with the bat; Y Venugopal Rao made a sterling 107 off 122 balls (8x4, 2x6), and his partnership of 205 for the third wicket with Fayaz Ahmed (94, 129b, 9x4) was the defining stand of the innings.

But every other batsman, however, made a single-digit figure, and that meant that from 220 for three in 44.3 overs, with Venugopal Rao just out, Andhra could only manage 243 for eight in their 50 overs. L Balaji ended with five for 36 off 10 overs for Tamil Nadu.

Skipper and opener S Suresh fell early for Tamil Nadu, but Sadagoppan Ramesh, displaying the first signs of form in this tournament, made 89 off just 87 balls (14x4) before he was run out. He collaborated with S Sriram in a stand of 132 for the third wicket, and once he was out, Sriram went on to complete an unbeaten 110 off 84 balls (15x4) to see his side home.

Karnataka scrape home by one wicket against Goa

At the Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wodayar Sports Centre in Bangalore, Goa put up a brave defence of their relatively meagre total of 206, and Karnataka had to squeeze to a one-wicket win to pick up their four points.

Goa, asked to bat, were saved from humiliation primarily due to SB Jakati's knock of 77 off 90 balls (11x4). MD Phadke also made 44, and once Jakati departed the crease, the batting crumbled to 206 all out in 47.3 overs.

Karnataka started well, with Barrington Rowland making 53 at the top of the order. But a shaky middle and late order gave Goa hope, and it was only thanks to C Raghu's unbeaten 27 (34b, 3x4, 2x6) that Karnataka slid home in 42.2 overs.

Sujith Somasunder ton thwarts Hyderabad chase

Sujith Somasunder's sturdy 124 (147b, 14x4, 1x6) at the top of the order saw Kerala register a challenging total of 292 in 50 overs, one that gave them a 45-run win over Hyderabad at Bangalore.

Aside from Somasunder's century, it was C Hemant Kumar's 66 (84b, 3x4) that shaped the Kerala essay. The pair put on 174 runs for the second wicket in just 30 overs, and Sunil Oasis' quickfire 30-ball 38 saw Kerala post a large enough total to put pressure on Hyderabad's strong batting.

Although the in-form D Vinay Kumar made 98 (111b, 8x4) in the middle order for Hyderabad, he found little support apart from I Khaleel's 59. Leg-spinner KN Ananthapadmanabhan took three wickets for 37 runs, and Hyderabad were bowled out for 247 in 46.2 overs.

Uttar Pradesh trounce Madhya Pradesh by 96 runs

A solid opening partnership laid the foundation for a Uttar Pradesh total that proved beyond the reach of Madhya Pradesh in their Ranji one-day tie at the Maharani Usharaje Trust Cricket Ground in Indore.

Openers Prashant Malviya (64, 87b, 5x4) and Jyoti Yadav (70, 91b, 5x4, 3x6) added 137 runs for the first wicket, and skipper Gyanendra Pandey's quick 47 lifted Uttar Pradesh to 266 for six in their 50 overs.

Madhya Pradesh collapsed to 170 all out in 42.2 overs, with only S Abbas Ali (45, 59b, 4x4) offering any signs of resistance. Ashish Winston Zaidi for Uttar Pradesh picked three for 36 off his eight overs, while left-arm spinner Praveen Gupta did better with three for 22 off 10 overs.

Tight win for Rajasthan against Vidarbha

Rajasthan reached their target of 189 with two wickets and three balls to spare in their Ranji one-day tie against Vidarbha at the Daly College Ground in Indore on Wednesday.

Asked to bat, Vidarbha could only post 188 for nine in their 50 overs, with Madhusudan Acharya at number eight top-scoring with an unbeaten 39. For Rajasthan, skipper PK Krishnakumar and Anup Dave took three wickets apiece.

An identical top-score ensued from Krishnakumar in the Rajasthan innings, who made 39 off 75 balls. But his presence in the middle proved more fruitful, and although he fell as the eighth wicket two runs short of the target, the target was reached two balls later.

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