Medium-pacer Mohit Avasthi singlehandedly dismantled Kerala batting line-up with seven wickets to leave Mumbai in command on day two of their Ranji Trophy Group B fixture in Thumba, Kerala, on Saturday.
In response to Mumbai's first innings 251, the home side were restricted to 244 with Avasthi's accurate and disciplined bowling (7/57).
With a narrow lead of seven runs in the first innings, Mumbai came out for their second innings with a strong intent to extend their advantage.
Openers Jay Bista and Bhupen Lalwani exhibited class and composure, remaining unbeaten at the close of play.
Bista's unbeaten 59 (67b; 3x4, 1x6), combined with Lalwani's resilient 41 (90b; 4x4), propelled Mumbai to 105 for no loss, an overall lead of 112 runs with all wickets intact.
Earlier, Sachin Baby was Kerala's top scorer (65; 130b) but he could not convert it into a big one, falling to Tanush Kotian (1/10; 3 overs).
Skipper Sanju Samson (38) also fell cheaply with Avasthi running through the Kerala middle-order.
Porel's maiden ton powers Bengal
Young gun Abishek Porel notched up his maiden first-class century to steer hosts Bengal to a formidable 381/8 against Chhattisgarh at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
The 21-year-old wicketkeeper-batter's knock of 114 runs came off 219 deliveries, featuring an impressive array of strokes, including 14 boundaries and a six.
Porel's innings proved to be the backbone of Bengal's batting, providing stability and resilience against the Chhattisgarh bowling attack.
His 120-run partnership with veteran Anustup Majumdar, who contributed 71, played a pivotal role in Bengal's innings.
Resuming the day on 206/4, the duo completed their respective fifties before Chhattisgarh finally broke the partnership with Sourabh Majumdar dismissing the Bengal veteran.
Suraj Singh Sandhu (33 batting) Karan Lal (24 batting), Shubham Chatterjee (21) also made valuable lower-order contributions to take Bengal close to the 400-mark.
Andhra take upper hand
In Dibrugarh, Lalith Mohan and Manish Golamaru bagged three wickets each to lead Andhra's bowling, as Assam were bundled out for 160 in 60.1 overs from being 43 for no loss overnight.
At close on day two, Andhra were 147/1, taking an overall lead of 175.
Skipper Ricky Bhui (52) and Hanuma Vihari (48) were at the crease in an unbroken 100-run partnership for the second wicket.
Brief Scores:
In Thumba: Mumbai 251 and 105 for no loss; 26 overs (Jay Bista 59 batting, Bhupen Lalwani 41 batting). Kerala 244; 55.2 overs (Sachin Baby 65, Rohan Kunnummal 56; Mohit Avasthi 7/57). Mumbai lead by 112 runs.
In Kolkata: Bengal 381/8; 128 overs (Abhishek Porel 114, Sudip Gharami 49, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal 33 batting; Shashank Singh 2/42, Sourabh Majumdar 2/72, Vashudev Bareth 2/85) vs Chhattisgarh.
In Dibrugarh: Andhra 188 and 147/1; 42 overs (Ricky Bhui 52 batting, Hanuma Vihari 48 batting) Assam 160; 60.1 overs (Rahul Hazarika 39; Lalith Mohan 3/27, Manish Golamaru 3/21, Nitish Reddy 2/32). Andhra lead by 175 runs.
In Meerut: Bihar 126/3; 48 overs (Sraman Nigrodh 72) vs Uttar Pradesh.
Haryana hand Manipur innings defeat inside two days
Haryana came up with an all-round performance to wrap up their Ranji Trophy Group A meeting versus Manipur inside two days in Ahmedabad on Saturday, winning by an innings and 338 runs.
For Haryana, Himanshu Rana struck an unbeaten 250 that included 33 fours, while Nishant Sindhu made 119.
Resuming Day 2 on 391 for three, Haryana went on to post 508 for three.
In reply, Manipur were bundled out for a paltry 77 in the first innings, thanks to Rahul Tewatia and Jayant Yadav grabbing three wickets each, with K Priyojit Singh (24 not out) being the top scorer.
In the second innings, Manipur could only better their first innings total by 16 runs, getting bowled out for 93.
In Delhi, the Group A match between Jharkhand and Services saw twin centuries from Virat Singh (108) and Kumar Kushagra (132), as the former posted a modest total of 316.
Jharkhand had resumed the day on 195 for four before the duo put on a 171-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
For Services, Varun Choudhary grabbed four wickets. In reply, Services batted decently.
Opener Nitin Tanwar (1) retired hurt before Shubham Rohilla (35) and Ravi Chauhan (59 not out) added 82 more.
Services finished the day on 128 for two.
In Nagpur, the Group A game between Vidarbha and Saurashtra saw the former getting dismissed for a mere 78.
Vidarbha began the day on 26 for four before conceding a lead of 128 to Saurashtra. While Jitesh Sharma (28) was their top scorer, Chirag Jani dominated with a four wickets.
In the second innings, Saurashtra put on a strong show, finishing the day on 205 for three, with Kevin Jivrajani (57) and Vishvarajsinh Jadeja (79) having contributed efficiently, as they led by 333 runs.
The Group A contest between Rajasthan and Maharashtra in Jodhpur saw the former getting shot out for 270.
Starting the day on 110 for two, Karan Lamba (53), skipper Deepak Hooda (63) and Shubham Sharma (53) allowed Rajasthan to take a lead of 81 runs.
Akshay Palkar took a five-for for Maharashtra, while Hitesh Walunj impressed with four wickets.
Maharashtra finished the day on 66 for one, with Pavan Shah (13) being the only batter to get out, as the team trailed by 15 runs.
Brief scores:
In Ahmedabad: Haryana 508/3 (Ankit Kumar 56, Himanshu Rana 250, Nishant Sindhu 119; Kangabam Priyojit 1/51) defeat Manipur 77 & 93 (Langlonyamba Meitan Keishangbam 50; Rahul Tewatia 3/30) by an innings and 338 runs.
In Delhi: Jharkhand 316 (Virat Singh 108, Kumar Kushagra 132; Varun Choudhary 4/56) leads Services 128-2 (Ravi Chauhan 59 batting; Shahbaz Nadeem 2/33) by 188 runs.
In Nagpur: Saurashtra 206 & 205-3 (Kevin Jivrajani 57, Vishvaraj Jadeja 79; Yash Thakur 1/23) leads Vidarbha 78 (Jitesh Sharma 28; Chirag Jani 4/14) by 333 runs.
In Jodhpur: Maharashtra 189 & 66-1 (Siddhesh Veer 36 batting; Arafat Khan 1/11) trails Rajasthan 270 (Karan Lamba 53, Deepak Hooda 63, Shubham Sharma 53; Ashay Palkar 5/46, Hitesh Walunj 4/80) by 15 runs. PTI AYG
Tamil Nadu lead Railways by 363 runs courtesy Jagadeesan double hundred
Narayan Jagadeesan smashed his way to unbeaten 245 as it propelled Tamil Nadu team to a commendable first innings score of 489 against Railways on the second day of its Ranji Trophy Group C fixture.
Resuming the day on 286 for five, Jagadeesan added 45 more to bring up his maiden first-class double ton.
He got decent support from the other end and added another 45 before eventually running out of partners.
For Railways, Akash Pandey grabbed three whereas, with the bat, it managed to finish the day on 126 for two, with Pratham Singh currently batting on 76.
Openers Shivam Chaudhary (16) and Vivek Singh (11) have been dismissed for the Railways, with Sandeep Warrier knocking them over in both instances.
In another Group C in Mysore, courtesy hundreds from Mayank Agarwal (114) and Devdutt Padikkal (101) have propelled Karnataka to 251 for 4.
Karnataka has managed to finish Day 2 on 251 for four, trailing by 70 runs, with Goa's Darshan Misal and Mohit Redkar clutching two wickets each.
Earlier, Karnataka bundled out Goa for 321. The visitors began the day on 228 for eight, with Arjun Tendulkar (53) being their last man to be dismissed, whereas Snehal Kauthankar (83) was their top scorer.
Vijaykumar Vyshak, M Venkatesh and Rohit Kumar got three wickets each for Karnataka.
In Chandigarh's Group C encounter, Gujarat finished Day 2 on 86 for two against Chandigarh after the opening day's play was called off due to bad light.
With the hosts opting to field, Gujarat was reeling at 19 for two, as Jagjit Singh dismissed both openers Priyank Panchal (5) and Urvil Patel (14).
Also, in Mohali's Group C meet, Punjab finished Day 2 on 78 for seven versus Tripura after Day 1's play was suspended due to poor visibility. As the visitors chose to field, it turned out to be the right decision.
So far, Punjab opener Prabhsimran Singh (21) and Nehal Wadhera (33) have been the only two lads to enter double figures, while for Tripura, Manisankar Murasingh and Rana Dutta have captured two wickets each.
Brief scores:
In Coimbatore: Tamil Nadu 489 (Narayan Jagadeesan 245, Boopathi Kumar 67; Sai Kishore 59; Akash Pandey 3/102) leads Railways 126-2 (Pratham Singh 76 batting; Sandeep Warrier 2/35) by 363 runs.
In Mysore: Goa 321 (Snehal Kauthankar 83, Arjun Tendulkar 52, Heramb Parab 53; Vijaykumar Vyshak 3/76, M Venkatesh 3/41, Rohit Kumar 3/90) leads Karnataka 251-4 (Mayank Agarwal 114, Devdutt Padikkal 101; Mohit Redkar 2/65) by 70 runs.
In Chandigarh: Gujarat 86-2 (Sunpreetsingh Bagga 39; Jagjit Singh 2/27) vs Chandigarh.
In Mohali: Punjab 78-7 (Nehal Wadhera 33; Manisankar Murasingh 2/11) vs Tripura.
