A summary of the third day's play in the Ranji Trophy matches at various venues across the country.
Rajasthan scored a tense two-wicket victory over Odisha on Thursday to end a forgettable Ranji Trophy season on a high.
79 for two overnight and requiring another 152 runs to chase down a 230-run target, they managed to get over the line in low-scoring game.
Fifties from Siddharth Dobal (52) and Puneet Yadav (59) came more than handy in the run-chase.
Odisha had scored 151 and 129, while Rajasthan were bowled out for a paltry 51 in their first innings.
It was the last match of the season for both teams, having failed to make the quarter-finals.
Rajasthan finished with 17 points and Odisha 12 points from eight games.
Brief Scores:
Odisha: 151 & 129.
Rajasthan: 51 & 231-8 (Puneet Yadav 59, Siddharth Dobal 52; Basant Mohanty 3-65).
Rajasthan won by two wickets
Ankit's second five-for helps MP beat Andhra by an innings
Indore: Left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma claimed his second five-for of the match as Madhya Pradesh notched an innings victory over Andhra to keep their quarter-final hopes alive.
Following on, Andhra were all out for 214 in 78.3 overs in their second innings, with Ankit returning brilliant figures of 7-91 as the home side won by an innings and nine runs on the third day at the Holkar Cricket Stadium.
Ankit ended the match with 13 wickets for 108 runs as he had also picked up six wickets for 17 runs in Andhra's first innings, which folded at 56 in 38.2 overs.
Madhya Pradesh secured seven points, including a bonus, from the win while Andhra got none.
MP have ended their league engagements and are now at third spot in Group B with 24 points from eight matches.
Their qualification for the quarter-finals will, however, depend on results from the Mumbai-Gujarat game as well as the match between Uttar Pradesh and Baroda.
Two teams will qualify from Group B for the quarter-finals.
Brief Scores:
Madhya Pradesh: 279 (Rameez Khan 89, Harpreet Singh 81, Bandaru Ayyappa 5-66)
Andhra: 56 (Ankit Sharma 6-17) & 214 (AG Pradeep 62, Ankit Sharma 7-91).
MP beat Andhra by an innings and nine runs
Merai century keeps Gujarat’s hopes alive
Mumbai: Bhargav Merai slammed his first century in the Ranji Trophy season to keep Gujarat's hopes alive on Day 3 of the Group B match at the Wankhede Stadium.
Coming to the crease on Day 2, when the visitors had lost two quick wickets and were 53 for 3, the Surat-born batsman kept the Mumbai attack at bay for the whole day with an unbeaten knock of 150 to help Gujarat reply with 355 for 7 to the hosts' mammoth first innings total of 531.
The 23-year-old right-hander, reprieved soon after he arrived at the crease on Wednesday when a rampaging Shardul Thakur dropped him off his own bowling after taking wickets in successive overs, was watchful through his marathon 506-minute innings that contained 13 fours in 315 balls.
In the process, Merai also completed the fourth first class century of his career as Gujarat, seeking at least the first innings points to qualify for the quarter-finals, were 176 runs adrift of the 40-time champions at stumps.
Barring Shardul, and to a lesser extent Alam, the Mumbai attack looked toothless and the spin bowlers did not look threatening at all, food for thought for the ex-champions before the knock-out rounds, for which they have already qualified.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai: 531.
Gujarat: 355-7 (B Merai batting 150, R Bhatt 31, Axar Patel 88; S Thakur 4-75).
Bengal steady after forcing Assam to follow-on
Guwahati: Bengal are on the verge of qualifying for the quarter-finals after forcing Assam to follow-on in their final Group A match.
The visiting side asked Assam to follow-on after skittling the home side out for 143 in their first innings on the third day to ensure that they do not lose the match at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium.
Assam, who conceded a massive 301-run first innings lead to Bengal, ended the day on 72 for 2 in 36 overs in their second essay.
With just a day left in the match, Assam can only save it as they need to score another 230 runs to make Bengal bat again.
Bengal, on the other hand, cannot lose from here. Even in case they do not force an outright win, they will end among the top three in Group A on the basis of the first-innings lead.
Delhi, Assam and Bengal are on 25 points each while Karnataka and Vidarbha are on 24 and 22 in Group A.
Delhi have already played all their eight matches while the other four teams are playing their last games. Three teams from the Group will qualify for quarter-finals.
For Bengal, pacer Mukesh Kumar and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha took three wickets each to rattle the Assam batsmen, who resumed the day at a precarious 1-4.
Brief Scores:
Bengal: 444-6 declared
Assam: 143 (Ashok Dinda 4-39, Mukesh Kumar 3-20, Pragyan Ojha 3-33) & 72-2(f/o).
Saurashtra thrash J&K to seal berth in quarter-final
Jammu: A sensational seven-wicket haul by spinner Kamlesh Makvana helped Saurashtra crush Jammu and Kashmir by an innings and 63 runs to seal a quarterfinal berth.
Ian Dev Singh's 179-ball 127 went in vain as Makvana wreaked havoc on the hosts on the third day, returning figures of 26.4-5-100-7 at the Gandhi Memorial Science College Ground.
Resuming at 491 for 9, Saurashtra's first innings ended with 497 runs.
J&K, who were all-out for 138 in the first innings, were bundled out for 296, handing Saurashtra a comprehensive victory.
Brief Scores:
J&K: 138 & 296 (ID Singh 127; KR Makvana 7-100)
Saurashtra: 497 (S Jackson 121; Z Sofi 3-51)
Karnataka-Maharashtra clash set for exciting finish
Pune: An exciting finish is on the cards after Maharashtra set Karnataka a challenging 293-run target on Day 3 in a Group A match.
Karnataka were 61 for one in their second innings, needing another 232 runs for victory.
Maharashtra, resuming the day at 70 for 4, went on to scored 260 largely due to the efforts of Rahul Tripathi (78) and Shrikant Mundhe (81).
Captain Vinay Kumar was the pick of the Karnataka bowlers, taking four wickets for 71 runs.
Brief Scores:
Maharashtra: 212 & 260 (Rahul Tripathi 78, Shrikanth Mundhe 81; Vinay Kumar 4-71).
Karnataka: 180 & 61-1 (Mayank Agarwal batting 23, Robin Uthappa batting 25).
Saurabh Tiwary’s double ton powers Jharkhand
Hyderabad: Saurabh Tiwary struck a double hundred before Jharkhand declared their first innings at 388-8 and reduced Hyderabad to 169 for 6 on the third and penultimate day of their Group C match.
Overnight 366 for 6, Jharkhand allowed Tiwary to touch the double-hundred mark before declaring their innings this morning.
Tiwary remained unbeaten on 209, which came off 283 deliveries and included 27 fours and four sixes.
In reply, Hyderabad, who were bowled out for 145 in their first essay, were once again reeling.
B Sandeep was the lone batsman to make a notable contribution with his 58-run knock, which included eight fours.
For Jharkhand, Shahbaz Nadeem and Rahul Shukla claimed two wickets each.Brief Scores:
Jharkhand: 388-8 declared
Hyderabad: 145 & 169-6 (B Sandeep 58, Rahul Shukla 2-28).
Tripura forced to follow-on against Services
Agartala: Faced with a mammoth Services total of 512, Tripura's batting collapsed and the hosts were forced to follow-on after being dismissed for 229 in their first innings on the third and penultimate day of their Group C match.
Overnight 45 for 1 in their first innings, Tripura rode on Saurabh Das's 115-ball 53 and some other decent middle-order contributions to make 229, but that was not enough to save them from the follow-on.
In their second innings, Tripura were 9 for no loss when stumps were drawn for the day.
For Services, Diwesh Pathania was the top wicket-taker in the first innings, snaring 3 for 49 in his 22 overs.
Muzzaffaruddin Khalid and Anshul Gupta claimed two wickets each.
Brief Scores:
Services: 512
Tripura: 229 and 9-0 (f/o).
Image: Bengal's Aamir Gani celebrates with team-mates the wicket of Assam’s Rahul Hazarika during the Ranji trophy match in Guwahati on Thursday.
Photograph: PTI
