After setting Saurashtra a target of 274, Andhra tightened its grip on the hosts by reducing them to 127 for 5 in the second innings on the third and penultimate day of the Elite Ranji Trophy match in Rajkot on Monday.

Chasing the stiff target, Saurashtra's batsmen floundered against some tight and accurate Andhra bowling.

Experienced Sitanshu Kotak was the only man to put up some resistance, scoring an unbeaten 57 (173b,7x4).

Ravindra Jadeja (3) was giving him company when stumps were drawn for the day.

The hosts still need 147 runs, with five wickets in hand.

Earlier, resuming at 87 for 4, Andhra were bowled out for 145 off 52 overs, 20 minutes before the lunch break.

Sandip Jobanputra and Rakesh Dhruv took three wickets each, conceding 78 and 7 runs respectively, while Sandip Maniar and Kanaiya Vaghela finished with two wickets each.

For Andhra, skipper Venugopal Rao was the most successful bowler, taking two for 25, while Kalyan Krishna and Mohd Faiq took a wicket each.

Scorecard

Andhra Pradesh (1st innings): 215

Saurashtra (1st innings): 87

Andhra Pradesh (2nd innings): 145

Saurashtra (2nd innings):
Kanaiya Vaghela bowled V Gopal Rao 22
Sagar Jogiyani c Prasad b Krishnan 12
Sitanshu Kotak batting 57
Cheteshwar Pujara run out 3
Jaydev Shah c A G Pradeep b Faiq 14
Pratik Mehta lbw Venu Gopal Rao 4
Ravindra Jadeja batting 3
Extras: (b-4, lb-1, nb-3, w-4) 12
Total: (for 5 wkts in 62 overs) 127

Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-54, 3-74, 4-113, 5-120.

Bowling: K S Shahabuddin 15-5-26-0, D K Krishnan 8-1-28-1, V Rao 5-1-11-0, Venu Gopal Rao 19-9-25-2, A S K Varma 1-0-8-0, Mohd Faiq 11-4-18-1, R V Ch Prasad 3-1-6-0.