A round-up of Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Saturday
Mumbai close in on win against Odisha
Shams Mulani produced an all-round show as Mumbai bowlers impressed after the side's superlative batting display to close in on a win against Odisha on the penultimate day of their Ranji Trophy elite group D match, in Ahmedabad, on Saturday.
Spin all-rounder Mulani hit a 99-ball 70 to help Mumbai declare their first innings at 532 for nine and then grabbed three wickets to rock Odisha, who were 84 for 5 at stumps. Mumbai are in a strong position to qualify for the knockout stage.
Abhishek Raut was batting on 31 and giving him company was Debashish Samantray on 9 at the draw of stumps with Odisha needing 164 runs with five wickets in hand to make Mumbai bat again.
Earlier, Armaan Jaffer (125) and Sarfaraz Khan (165) continued to bat with the same vigour with the former converting his unbeaten fifty into a century and the latter posting a 150-plus score to make life difficult for Odisha.
The duo added another 119 runs in 18.2 overs on Saturday before Prasanta Rana produced the breakthrough, trapping Jaffer in front of wicket.
Rana also accounted for Sarfaraz a few overs later to leave Mumbai at 378 for 5 but Odisha's agony didn't end as Mulani (70) and Aditya Tare (72) joined hands, forging a 100-run stand.
Jayanta Behera then got rid of Mulani, who hit 12 boundaries in his 99-ball innings, while Tare was the last to fall when he was stumped by Rajesh Dhuper off Pappu Roy.
In reply, Odisha had a disastrous start to their second innings as they were reduced to 35 for 4 in 15 overs.
Opener Shantanu Mishra (1) was the first to depart in the sixth over off Siddharth Raut, while Mulani removed skipper Subhranshu Senapati (3) next.
Raut returned to get rid of Govinda Poddar (1) LBW, while Mulani too trapped Rajesh Bhuper (4) in the 15th over.
Mulani also dismissed opener Anshuman Rath (34), who was the last to get out on the day.
In another match at Narendra Modi Stadium A ground, Saurashtra produced a solid batting display with four players, including Test discard Cheteshwar Pujara, scoring fifties as they reached 305 for 3 at stumps after dismissing Goa for 311 in 109.5 overs.
A 36-run first innings lead will ensure three points for Saurashtra but it wouldn't be enough to top the group.
Pujara, who was dropped from India's Test squad for the Sri Lanka series due to poor run of form, had a good outing, scoring an unbeaten 62-ball 64.
This was after openers Harvik Desai (77) and Snell Patel (61) smashed half-centuries to add 138 runs for the opening wicket.
Sheldon Jackson (53 batting) was the other not out batsman at stumps.
Brief Scores:
Odisha: 284 all out in 107.1 overs (Shantanu Mishra 89; Mohit Avasthi 3/66, D Kulkarni 2/42) and 84 for 5 in 27 overs (Anshuman Rath 34; Shams Mulani 3/30) versus Mumbai 532 for 9 in 131 overs (Sarfaraz 165, Armaan Jaffer 125, Aditya Tare 72, Shams Mulani 70; Rajesh Mohanty 3/123).
Goa: 311 all out in 109.5 overs (Suyash Prabhudessai 64, Shubham Ranjane 62, Eknath Kerkar 62; Chetan Sakariya 3/55) versus Saurashtra: 347 all out in 87.4 overs (Chirag Jani 140, Jackson Sheldon 97; Suyash Prabhudessai 2/36) and 303 for 3 in 57 overs (Harvik Desai 77, Cheteshwar Pujara 64, Snell Patel 61; Malliksab Sirur 1/26).
Karnataka on top against Pondicherry; Railways gain control vs J&K
Karnataka were on top against Pondicherry at the end of the third day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match in Chennai.
After piling up 453 for eight declared in their first innings, off-spinner K Gowtham picked up five wickets to help bowl out Pondicherry for 242 despite a fighting century by captain D Rohit (100 not out, 133 balls, 15 fours, 2 sixes).
Karnataka enforced the follow-on having secured a massive 312-run first innings lead. At stumps, Pondicherry were struggling at 62 for four as an innings defeat looms large.
In the other match of the group, Railways grabbed the advantage on the third day having taken a huge lead and then reduced Jammu & Kashmir to 145 for six.
A maiden Ranji ton by Yuvraj batting at no 8 helped Railways take a 167-run lead. Shivam Chaudhary took three wickets and captain Karn Sharma claimed two scalps as J&K were reduced to 145 for six.
Brief scores:
Karnataka 453 for eight declared vs Pondicherry 241 in 77.4 overs (Neyan Shyam Kangayan 25, Pavan Deshpande 29, D Rohit 100 not out (133b, 15x4, 2x6), Sagar Trivedi 29, Prasidh Krishna two for 42, K Gowtham five for 86) and 62 for four in 23 overs (Prasidh Krishna two for 31).
Jammu and Kashmir 259 & 145 for six in 53 overs (Suryansh Raina 39, Fazil Rashid 29, Abdul Samad 29, Ian Dev Singh 23 batting, Shivam Chaudhary three for 27, Karn Sharma two for 38) vs Railways 426 in 127.4 overs (Pratham Singh 75, Shivam Chaudhary 47, Mohammad Saif 31, Upendra Yadav 33, Karn Sharma 36, Yuvraj Singh 103 (133b, 10x4, 3x6), Akash Pandey 43, Auqib Nabi two for 74, Abid Mushtaq five for 95).
Punjab beat Tripura by 6 wickets, secure knock-out berth
Mandeep Singh anchored Punjab's successful 240-run chase with a 97 not out to beat Tripura by six wickets in their elite group F match and confirm their knockout berth in the Ranji Trophy in New Delhi.
Mandeep was involved in two key partnerships of 99 and 77 runs with Anmolpreet Singh (64 from 149 balls) and Ramandeep Singh (43 from 38 balls) to revive Punjab innings after they got off to a shaky start.
Opener Prabhismaran Singh (0) was dismissed by Manisankar Murasingh in the first over, while Abhishek Sharma also failed to convert his start to be dismissed for 15 as Punjab were reduced to 47/2 inside the first hour's play.
But Mandeep held on to seal the chase in 66 overs as Punjab finished with 16 points to top the table and qualify for the knockouts.
Brief Scores:
At Arun Jaitley Stadium: Tripura 127 and 232. Punjab 120 and 240/4 from 66 overs (Mandeep Singh 97 not out, Anmolpreet Singh 64, Ramandeep Singh 43). Punjab won by six wickets. Points: Punjab 6, Tripura 0.
At Palam A Ground: Haryana 302 and 320/9 declared from 76.1 overs (Yashu Sharma 55, Yuvraj Singh 50; Akash Vasisht 4/58). Himachal Pradesh 184 and 102/6 from 33 overs (Ankit Kalsi 37 batting). Himachal Pradesh need 337 runs to win.
Maharashtra take first-innings lead; UP fight back
Experienced spinner Satyajeet Bachhav snared seven wickets as Maharashtra dismissed Uttar Pradesh for 317, despite Priyam Garg's gritty 156, to take the crucial first innings lead in their Group G Ranji Trophy game in Sultanpur, Haryana.
However, Uttar Pradesh reduced Maharashtra to 84/4 in their second innings, with pacer Ankit Rajpoot (2/27) wreaking havoc at the top.
After the end of the third day, Maharashtra's overall lead was reduced to 229 runs.
Maharashtra had scored a challenging 462 in their first essay.
Uttar Pradesh resumed on their overnight score of 62/1, but save Garg and number six Rinku Singh (67), no other batter showed spine.
Opener Almas Shaukat (12), who retired hurt on Friday, fell cheaply and so did UP skipper Karan Sharma (23), who was trapped in front of the wicket by Vicky Ostwal (2/84).
UP was reeling at 130/4 after seasoned campaigner Akshdeep Nath (11) became Bachhav's (7/92) first victim.
However, Garg, who was going strong at one end, found an able ally in Rinku, as the duo took on the Maharashtra attack and forged a 158-run stand for the sixth wicket.
While Garg in his 253-ball innings hammered 20 boundaries and four maximums, Rinku played the perfect second fiddle, hitting nine fours.
The duo pulled the team out of trouble, but when it looked like they would frustrate the bowlers more, it was Bachhav, who gave Maharashtra the much-needed breakthrough.
He first removed Rinku and then immediately trapped Garg in front of the wicket as UP lost its sixth wicket for 293.
From 6/293, the side was bundled out for 317 as Bachhav ran riot and ripped apart the tail.
In the second essay, Maharashtra lost both in-form openers Pawan Shah (4) and skipper Ankit Bawane (6) cheaply.
Azim Kazi (6), who walked two-down, became Rajpoot's second victim, while Naushad Shaikh was also run out on 14, as Maharashtra was teetering at 56/4.
When stumps were drawn, Rahul Tripathi (41 not out) and Avdhoot Dandekar (6 not out) were at the crease.
Brief Scores:
Maharashtra 462 all out and 84/4 (Rahul Tripathi 41 not out; Ankit Rajpoot 2/27) versus Uttar Pradesh 317 (Priyam Garg 156, Rinku Singh 67; Satyajeet Bachhav 7/92, Vicky Ostwal 2/84) Maharashtra led by 229 runs
Assam 316 and 110 (Sarupam Purkayastha 46, Kunal Saikia 22; Lalit Yadav 5/22, Rajneesh Gurbani 4/33) versus Vidarbha 271 and 125/5 (Faiz Fazal 41, Ganesh Satish 29; Hridip Deka 4/26) Vidarbha need 31 runs to win.
Andhra, Services register wins; Uttarakhand tops group despite losing final league game
Uttarakhand finished on top of Elite Group E in the Ranji Trophy tournament despite going down to Andhra Pradesh by eight wickets in their final league match in Thiruvananthapuram.
Services thrashed Rajasthan by 10 wickets in the other match in the group.
Uttarakhand finished with 12 points followed by Andhra (9) and Services (8). Rajasthan ended up last with 6 points.
After dismissing Uttarakhand for 194, Andhra managed to secure a 32-run lead. Left-arm medium-pacer C V Stephen rocked Uttarakhand in the second innings with a five-wicket haul to send them crashing to 101 all out.
Needing 70 runs for a win, Andhra eased home in 18 overs losing two wickets in the process.
Earlier in the day, resuming at 36 for 2, Uttarakhand slipped to 62 for 5 as Stephen picked up three wickets to take his innings haul to five.
S Ashish then took over with his left-arm spin and cleaned up the tail, dismissing Kunal Chandela (36), Saurabh Rawat, Mayank Mishra and Agrim Tiwari.
Andhra lost opener U Girinath for a duck in their chase but C R Gnaneshwar (42 not out) and Shaik Rasheed (20) took them close to victory before the latter fell.
Gnaneshwar and captain Ricky Bhui (2 not out) saw Andhra home.
In the other match, Services, after taking a 209-run lead, shot out Rajasthan for 210 as Rahul Singh and Pulkit Narang bagged three wickets each.
Services got the required two runs for a well-deserved win against Rajasthan, which faltered after starting the tournament with a victory.
Brief scores:
Uttarakhand 194 all out in 69.1 overs (Kunal Chandela 52, Kamal Singh 42, Bandaru Ayyappa 4 for 37, Prithvi Raj 3 for 27) and 101 all out in 51.4 overs (Kunal Chandela 36, C V Stephen 5 for 27, S Ashish 4 for 17) lost to Andhra 226 all out in 85 overs (C R Gnaneshwar 45, Shaik Rasheed 56, Ricky Bhui 33, D Dhapola 4 for 80) and 70 for 2 in 18 overs (Gnaneshwar 42 not out) by eight wickets. Andhra: 6 points, Uttarakhand: 0.
Rajasthan 92 all out in 45.2 overs (Ashok Menaria 31, Diwesh Pathania 3 for 24, Poonam Poonia 3 for 31) and 210 all out in 94.5 overs (Amitkumar Gautam 68, Ashok Menaria 39, Rahul Singh 3 for 57) lost to Services 301 all out in 113.2 overs (Rajat Paliwal 91, Ravi Chauhan 47, Shamser Yadav 60, MJ Suthar 4 for 82) and 2 for no loss. Services: 7 points, Rajasthan: 0.
Hyderabad ride on Ravi Teja's all-round show to down Baroda by 43 runs
Ravi Teja scored a resolute second innings fifty and returned with a match haul of eight wickets to power Hyderabad to a 43-run victory over Baroda in their Ranji Trophy group B match in Cuttuck.
Having taken a slender 34-run first innings lead, Hyderabad were all out for 201 in their second innings, setting Baroda a target of 240.
In reply, Baroda were bundled out for 192 in 53.4 overs with Teja being the wrecker-in-chief with his figures of 4/70 to follow up his first innings show of 4/50.
New ball bowler B Punnaiah (2/41) gave the early blows dismissing openers Jyotsnil Singh (1) and Kedav Devdhar (20) in successive overs, before Teja and Tanay Thyagarajan (3/37) got into the act sharing seven wickets between them.
Earlier resuming their second innings for 169/6, No 8 batter Teja, who was on the overnight score of 36, completed his sixth first class half-century and took the team past 200-mark.
Hyderabad lost their last three wickets for one run with Baroda's Babashafi Pathan wiping the tail en route to his 4/35.
However, the win may not be enough for Hyderabad (12 points) to qualify for the knockout round as group leaders Bengal (12) are firmly placed for an outright win against Chandigarh.
At close on the penultimate day, Chandigarh were struggling at 14/2 in their improbable chase of 413.
Bengal, who taken a handsome 231 first innings lead, declared their second innings for 181/8.
Chandigarh need 399 runs to win.
Brief Scores:
Bengal 437 and 181/8 declared in 56.1 overs (Anustup Majumdar 43, Abhishek Porel 38; Jaskarandeep Singh 2/32, Shreshth Nirmohi 2/34, Gaurav Gambhir 2/36, Gurinder Singh 2/50).
Chandigarh 206; 68.2 overs (Ankit Kaushik 63, Manan Vohra 35; Nilakantha Das 3/47) and 14/2 in 7.5 overs.
Hyderabad 197 and 201 in 72.2 overs (Ravi Teja 56, Chandan Sahani 54; Babashafi Pathan 4/35, Lukman Meriwala 3/44).
Baroda 156 and 192 in 53.4 overs (Babashafi Pathan 36, Vishnu Solanki 28; Ravi Teja 4/70, Tanay Thyagarajan 3/37). Hyderabad won by 43 runs.
Points: Hyderabad 6, Baroda 0.
Following on, Delhi fighting hard riding on Dhull's unbeaten fifty against Chhattisgarh
Out of the knockout race, Delhi gave a good account of themselves after following on to reach 83 for no loss in their second innings on the third day of their final Ranji Trophy elite group H match against Chhattisgarh in Guwahati.
At stumps on day three, India's latest U-19 World Cup winning team skipper Yash Dhull was batting on unbeaten 56 off 78 balls, while Dhruv Shorey was not out on 26 off 26 balls.
Dhull, playing his maiden Rani Trophy season, struck nine boundaries during his knock, while Shorey hit two fours.
Delhi still trail Chhattisgarh by 104 runs with a day's play remaining in the match.
Earlier, resuming at their overnight score of 108 for 3 in reply to Chhattisgarh's 482 for 9 declared, Delhi folded for 295 in 95.3 overs.
Nitish Rana, who resumed at his overnight score of 20, struck 71 off 152 balls with the help of nine boundaries and one six, while Jonty Sidhu (25) added 17 runs to his previous day's score before getting out.
Lalit Yadav (60) made a fine half-century off 111 balls while skipper Pradeep Sangwan (17) and Ishant Sharma (16) also contributed useful runs with the bat to take Delhi close to the 300-run mark.
Shubham Agarwal (3/74) and Sumit Ruikar (3/45) and Ravi Kiran (3/73) scalped three wickets each for Chhattisgarh.
Jharkhand eye win against Tamil Nadu
In the other Group H match, Jharkhand were sniffing a win against formidable Tamil Nadu, needing just 104 runs on the final day with six wickets in hand.
Right-arm pacer Rahul Shukla (5/29) returned with a five-wicket haul while Shahbaz Nadeem (2/35) and Anukul Roy (2/29) also chipped in with wickets to bundle out TN for 152 in their second innings to set Jharkhand a target of 212 for an outright win.
Chasing, skipper Saurabh Tiwary was unbeaten on 41 in the company of wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra (25 not out) as Jharkhand reached 102 for four in 39 overs.
Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore (2/25) picked up two wickets for Tamil Nadu.
Brief Scores:
Chhattisgarh: 482 for 9 declared in 145 overs (Amandeep Khare 156 not out, Shashank Singh 122, Ajay Mandal 63; Vikas Mishra 6/124) vs Delhi: 295 all out & 83 for no loss in 24 overs (Yash Dhull 56 not out, Dhruv Shorey 26 not out).
Tamil Nadu: 285 & 152 all out in 54.2 overs (Baba Indrajith 52; Rahul Shukla 5/29) vs Jharkhand: 226 & 102 for 4 in 39 overs (Saurabh Tiwary 41 not out; Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore 2/25). PTI SSC SSC
MP pile up 585/9 declared, Kerala fight back
Madhya Pradesh rode on an elegant 289 by opener Yash Dubey to declare their first innings at a mammoth 585 for nine against Kerala in their Elite Group A Ranji Trophy game in Rajkot.
In reply, fought back to reach 198 for two at stumps on day three with both their openers -- Rahul P (82 not out) and Rohan Kunnummal (75) -- scoring half centuries at stumps on day three.
Kerala still trail MP by 387 runs with a day's play remaining in the match.
MP, resuming at their overnight score of 474 for five, added 111 more runs before skipper Aditya Srivastava declared the innings.
Dubey, a right-handed batter, resumed from his overnight score of 224 and went on to make 289 but missed a deserving triple hundred.
It was once again Dubey show, who continued his onslaught and took on the Kerala bowlers with gusto.
He added crucial 62 runs with Mihir Hirwani (36) and another 38 runs with Kumar Kartikeya Singh (10) to take MP past the 550-run mark.
Dubey, in his 591-balls marathon innings, hammered 35 boundaries and two maximums, before being trapped by off-spinner Jalaj Saxena (6/116), who was the pick of the bowlers for Kerala.
Knowing they had a mountain to climb, Kerala openers gave the team a good start, adding 129 runs for the opening stand.
Rahul and Rohan took on the Madhya Pradesh attack with ease on a track, where batting has been easy.
Rahul struck 13 boundaries so far in his 178-ball unbroken knock while Kunnummal, who played a bit aggressive, struck eight fours in his 110-ball knock.
It was 27-year-old leg-spinner Mihir Hirwani, who broke the stand by trapping Rohan in front of the wicket.
One-down Vathsal Govind (15) played the perfect second fiddle to Rahul, who kept on playing his shots. The duo added 53 runs for the second wicket before Anubhav Agarwal dismissed Govind.
At stumps, Rahul had skipper Sachin Baby (7 not out) for company.
The match looks poised for a draw on the final day and both the sides would be looking to take the first-innings lead and grab three points.
MP came into the game after beating Gujarat and Meghalaya and had 13 points. Kerala, on the other hand, also have 13 points and so whoever wins or takes the first innings lead goes to the knockout stages.
Brief Scores:
Madhya Pradesh 585/9 declared (Yash Dubey 289, Rajat Patidar 142; Jalaj Saxena 6/116, Basil NP 1/85) versus Kerala 198/2 (Rahul P 82 not out; Rohan Kunnummal 75; Anubhav Agarwal 1/25) Kerala trail by 387 runs.
Gujarat 555/8 declared (Bhargav Merai 223, Het Patel 154; Chirag Khurana 5/151, Dippu 1/37) versus Meghalaya 166 and 224/3 (DB Ravi Teja 133 not out; Punit Bisht 55 not out; Parth Vaghani 2/44) Meghalaya trail by 165 runs.
Bist slams fourth straight century to put Nagaland on top
Chetan Bist slammed his fourth straight century to put Plate group leaders Nagaland in the driver's seat against Mizoram in their Ranji Trophy match at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
The former Rajasthan wicketkeeper-batter Bist followed up his 119 in the first innings with an unbeaten 100 in the second, his sixth overall.
Skipper Rongsen Jonathan (113) also struck a century in a 155-run fifth wicket partnership as Nagaland declared their second innings at 295/5, setting Mizoram an improbable target of 710 runs.
In reply, Mizoram were struggling at 42/1, needing 668 runs on the final day.
For Bist, this was his fourth century in five innings as he had earlier smashed 115 and 12 in their first round match against Sikkim, while he stayed unbeaten on 155 against Arunachal Pradesh in their last match.
Nagaland lead the group with 13 points, three clear of Manipur after two matches.
Brief Scores:
At Videocon Academy: Arunachal Pradesh 196 and 253 from 91.1 overs (Rajesh Bishnoi 106, Teshi Tiku 47; Ashutosh Aman 5/56). Bihar 109 and 263/6 from 75 overs (Vikrant Singh 57, Rishav Raj 52, Ashutosh Aman 45 batting; Rajesh Bishnoi 4/81). Bihar need 78 runs to win.
At Eden Gardens: Nagaland 509 and 295/5 declared from 71 overs (Rongsen Jonathan 113, Chetan Bist 100 not out; Sumit Lama 2/69). Mizoram 95 and 42/1 from 16.2 overs. Mizoram need 668 runs to win.
At Jadavpur University Second Campus: Sikkim 464 and 211/2 from 57 overs (Codanda Ajit Karthik 104, Nilesh Lamichaney 50 batting). Manipur 324 from 93 overs (Kangbam Singh 79, Nitesh Sedai 62, Rex Rajkumar 62; Tarun Sharma 4/58, Sumit Singh 3/55). Sikkim lead by 349 runs.
