Himachal makes it three in a row

Himachal Pradesh registered their third successive victory when they drubbed Jammu and Kashmir by an innings and 129 runs on the third day of the Ranji Trophy Plate Group 'A' match at Dharamsala on Wednesday.

Needing 287 runs to make the hosts bat again, Jammu and Kashmir were bowled out for 158 .

Vishal Bhatia was the wrecker-in-chief as he took four wickets for 40 runs while Vikram Malick and Kuldeep Diwan claimed three scalps each.

Himachal Pradesh got four points and one bonus point for the innings victory. They now top the group with 16 points.

They will play the last league match against Jharkhand at Jamshedpur from December 22.

Himachal had defeated Orissa by an innings in the last match and humbled Saurashtra in the earlier encounter.

Brief score:

Jammu and Kashmir 93 and 158 (Ashwani Gupta 43 not out; V Bhatia 4/40, K Diwan 3/30, V Malick 3/55) lost to Himachal Pradesh 370.