Mumbai beat Hyderabad
by 69 runs

Former champions Mumbai staged a grand recovery to score a resounding 69-run victory over hosts Hyderabad on the final day of the four-day Ranji Trophy league match at Gymkhana grounds on Tuesday.

The outright victory gave Mumbai two points.

Chasing a target of 306, Hyderabad were bundled out for 236 in 98.5 overs in their second innings, a few minutes after tea.

Hyderabad, resuming at 110 for 5, saw Anirudh Singh and Shivaji Yadav put up a brave fight and take the score beyond the 200-run mark. The duo added 42 runs for the sixth wicket but Mumbai spinners Rajesh Pawar and Sairaj Bahutule called the shots and troubled the batsmen frequently with their flight.

Pawar dismissed Anirudh Singh for a well-made 60, inclusive of eight hits to the fence, while Shivaji was unbeaten on 78, which had nine boundaries.

Debutant wicketkeeper Ibrahim Kaleel played a patient innings and tried to block one end by facing 62 balls, in the space of 79 minutes, to score 17, but was well-taken by Wassim Jaffer in the slips as Avishkar Salvi got his third wicket.

Earlier the hosts, after bundling out Mumbai for a paltry 98 in the first innings, could not convert the advantage into a formidable innings as they folded for 130.

Starting with a deficit of 32 runs, Mumbai started their second essay in style and piled 337 before packing the five top order Hyderabad batsmen to pavilion for 110.

Railways fightback; deny Delhi outright win

An unbeaten 141-run stand for the third wicket between Amit Pagnis and Yere Goud saved defending champions Railways from defeat against Delhi in the Ranji trophy elite group 'A' league match which ended in Delhi on Tuesday.

Pagnis remained unbeaten on 107 with Goud, on 86, in Railways' second innings total of 272 for two in 101 overs when bad light and showers forced the umpires to call off play at the stroke of tea.

Delhi bagged one point on account of their big 302-run first innings lead while Railways finished a tie without a point.

Resuming at their overnight score of 90 for one, the Railways' top order put up a determined effort as Delhi, who dismissed Railways for 205 in the first innings before making 505 for four, struggled for success on a placid pitch.

Overnight not out batsmen Tejinder Pal Singh, who resumed on 39, and Pagnis, who was on 37, took the score to 131, when Tejinder was stumped by Vijay Dahiya off the bowling of Rahul Sanghvi. Tejinder made 57, with seven boundaries and a straight six off Abishek Sharma, in his 111-ball knock.

That was the only success for the hosts as new batsman Yere Goud and Pagnis handled the Delhi bowlers with ease.

Goud, who hit 13 fours during his 233-minute stay, was unlucky to miss his ninth Ranji century while Pagnis scored his fifth ton and batted for 407 minutes, hitting 10 boundaries.

Bengal-Rajasthan tie washed out

Heavy rains washed out the fourth and last day's play in the Ranji Trophy elite division match between Bengal and Rajasthan in Kolkata without a ball being bowled.

As Rajasthan were yet to complete their first innings, in reply to Bengal's 413, none of the teams got a point, as per the new points system of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

Brief scores:
Bengal (1st innings): 413 all out (D Gandhi 138, A Chakraborty 90; P Krishnakumar 4/79). Rajasthan (1st innings): Nikhil Doru not out 77, P Krishna Kumar not out 57.

Assam earm a point as rains force a draw

Incessant rain washed out the last day's play in the elite group Ranji Trophy tie between Assam and Orissa, in Guwahati, forcing the match to be drawn.

Assam earned one point by virtue of their first innings lead as per the new points rule.

Assam had taken a vital first innings lead of 17 runs yesterday and were 364 for seven when played ended on the third day.

Orissa were earlier all out for 347 in their first innings.

It drizzled for the entire day today, rendering both the pitch and outfield unplayable.

J&K - Bihar match called off; no points awarded

The fourth and final day's play in the Ranji Trophy match between Jammu and Kashmir and host Bihar was called off without a ball being bowled today at the Keenan stadium in Jamshedpur due to inclement weather prevailing since last evening.

The steel city had light drizzles at frequent intervals since last evening and forcing the umpires - R Radhakrishnan and K Srinivasan - of Tamil Nadu to call off the match after the scheduled tea break.

As the first innings could not be completed, no team got points.

Vidarbha put up 300 against Saurashtra

A fighting 59 by Chandrashekhar Atram and useful contribution from Alind Naidu (48) enabled hosts Vidarbha to post 300 runs in their first innings against Saurashtra at Nagpur on the opening day of four-day Ranji Trophy late group match on Tuesday.

Saurashtra, in reply, were 12 without loss at close of the play.

Earlier, Vidarbha who elected to bat, put on 52 for the first wicket, but soon ran into trouble, losing half their side for 135, at lunch.

However, Atram and Naidu pulled their side to a reasonably safe position.

Samir Khare (36) and Nitin Gawnde (32) also helped the Vidarbha cause.

Left-arm spinner Rakesh Dhruv (3 for 57) was the pick of Saurashtra bowlers while Niraj Oddedra (2 for 22) and Shintanshu Kotak (2 for 60) were the other wicket-takers.

Jasveer Singh hits ton as Services makes strong start

A fine unbeaten century by Jasveer Singh took hosts Services to 243 for the loss of two wickets on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Plate group 'A' match against Tripura in Delhi on Tuesday.

When bad light stopped play ahead of the scheduled close, Jasveer was batting on 113, with Yashpal Singh on 77.

Electing to bat, Services were jolted by the dismissal of opener Sarabjeet Singh (5) who was trapped in front by Timir Chanda. But Jasveer, who came in at No.3, along with T M S Reddy (31) steadied the innings and took the total to 89 before Reddy was out, caught by Rajib Dutta of the bowling off Sanjay Shukla.

New batsman Yashpal Singh provided excellent support to Jasveer as the two exposed Tripura's bowling resources.

Tripura used as many as eight bowlers before bad light stopped play with 2.5 overs left for the day.

Mail Cricket Editor