Karnataka skipper Mayank Agarwal played a captain's knock of 109, as his side took a 64-run lead on Day 2 of their Group C Ranji Trophy match against Gujarat Ahmedabad on Saturday.
After bundling out Gujarat for 263 on the opening day, Karnataka are 328 for five, with Manish Pandey unbeaten on 50 and Sujay Sateri on 24. The two have already stitched together a 60-run stand.
Karnataka openers Ravikumar Samarth (60) and Mayank (109) sewed together a 172-run partnership to get their side off to a great start on Saturday.
Mayank brought up his 16th first-class century off 124 deliveries, including 17 fours and a six.
Both the openers were unlucky to get dismissed on 172. However, Devdutt Padikkal (42) and Nikin Jose (22) added 65 more runs before both were dismissed on 238.
For Gujarat, Chintan Gaja grabbed two wickets.
In another Group C match in Porvorim, centuries from Suyash Prabhudessai (197) and Deepraj Gaonkar (115 not out) propelled Goa to a massive 618 for seven against Chandigarh.
Goa resumed the day at 267 for three, with Prabhudessai and Darshan Misal (46) adding 104 for the fourth wicket.
Brief scores:
In Ahmedabad: Gujarat 264 in 88 overs (Kshitij Patel 95, Umang Kumar 72; Vasuki Koushik 4/49). Karnataka 328/5 in 90 overs (Ravikumar Samarth 60, Mayank Agarwal 109, Manish Pandey 56; Chintan Gaja 2/43).
In Porvorim: Goa 618/7 in 160 overs (Suyash Prabhudessai 197, Krishnamurthy Siddharth 77, Deepraj Gaonkar 115 not out, Arjun Tendulkar 80; Jagjit Singh 2/79). Chandigarh 73-1 (Arslan Khan 41; Mohit Redkar 1/18) by 545 runs.
In Chandigarh: Railways 343/9 (Pratham Singh 60, Mohammad Saif 50, Upendra Yadav 58, Sahab Yuvraj 68; Siddarth Kaul 3/80). Punjab.
In Agartala: Tamil Nadu 122/1 (Vijay Shankar 50 batting; Manisankar Murasingh 1/11) vs Tripura.
Kaif all-round show gives Bengal 128-run first-innings lead
Having bowled a magical spell of 4/14, Mohammed Kaif stepped up with the bat at No. 9 with an unbeaten 45 to help Bengal take the first-innings lead of 128 runs against hosts Uttar Pradesh on day two of their Ranji Trophy Group B match in Kanpur.
Resuming at 95/5, Bengal folded up for 188 under challenging conditions at the Green Park, with veteran India seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar returning excellent figures of 8/41.
Uttar Pradesh, who were dismissed for 60 in the first innings, responded with resilience in the second essay to be 46 for no loss at close on day two.
Samarth Singh and Aryan Juyal remained unbeaten at 21 and 20, respectively as UP trailed by 82 runs.
Day 3 promises an intriguing contest as the home side will look to overcome the deficit and assert dominance, while Bengal bowlers will be desperate to seize the early initiative.
Earlier on Saturday morning, Bengal lost three wickets for 15 runs. But Kaif showed the way, emerging as the top-scorer with 45 not out off 79 balls.
Tailenders Kaif and Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal (20) added the much-needed 52 runs for the ninth wicket to take Bengal to a fighting score.
Kaif smashed four boundaries and two sixes.
After the dismissal of Suraj, Kaif partnered with Ishan Porel (10) and added another vital 26 runs for the last wicket to take the hosts to a respectable total.
Mumbai dominate Andhra
At the Sharad Pawar Cricket Academy BKC, 41-times champions Mumbai asserted their dominance against Andhra.
After posting a formidable total of 395 in their first innings, Mumbai bowlers showcased their prowess, restricting Andhra to 98/3 at stumps on day two, trailing by 297 runs.
The day's highlight was Mumbai's lower order, led by Tanush Kotian and Mohit Avasthi, who orchestrated a stellar recovery from being 281/6.
Overnight batter Kotian, with his composed knock of 54, provided the stability required to anchor the innings, while Avasthi made a crucial 53 to frustrate the Andhra bowlers.
Brief Scores:
In Mumbai: Mumbai 395; 137.2 overs (Bhupen Lalwani 61, Tanush Kotian 54, Mohit Avasthi 53; Nitish Reddy 5/64). Andhra 98/3; 37 overs (Prasanth Kumar 59 batting). Andhra trail by 297 runs.
In Kanpur: Uttar Pradesh 60 and 46 for no loss; 18 overs. Bengal 188; 58.2 overs (Mohammed Kaif 45 not out, Sayan Ghosh 41; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 8/41). UP trail by 82 runs.
In Patna: Bihar 108; 38.4 overs (Bipin Saurabh 49; Ravi Kiran 5/21, Vashudev Bareth 3/21). Chhattisgarh 211/1; 66 overs (Rishabh Tiwari 98 batting, Ashutosh Singh 81 batting). Chhattisgarh lead by 103 runs.
In Guwahati: Kerala 419; 113.4 overs (Sachin Baby 131, Rohan Kunnummal 83, Krishna Prasad 80, Rohan Prem 50; Mukhtar Hussain 3/82, Rahul Singh 3/56). Assam 14/2; 5 overs. Assam trail by 405 runs.
Baroda take overall 191-run lead against Puducherry
Left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt returned with a five-wicket haul as Baroda bundled Puducherry out for 155 in their first innings on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Group D match in Vadodara.
Bhatt ran through the Puducherry top and lower-order batting line up, conceding 49 runs for his five wickets from 22.5 overs.
Mahesh Pithiya and Ninad Rathva chipped in with three and two wickets respectively as Puducherry folded their first innings in 59.5 overs. Akash Kargave top-scored for Puducherry with 45.
However, Baroda, who had made 218 in their first innings, struggled in their second essay, reaching to 128 for 7 from 46 overs when the stumps were drawn on the second day.
Overall, Baroda are ahead by 191 runs with three second innings wickets in hand, and the match can go anybody's way with two more days left to play.
Veteran left-arm spinner Sagar Udeshi was the pick of Puducherry bowlers yet again as he grabbed four wickets for 52 runs. Udeshi had taken seven wickets in Baroda's first innings.
Ninad Rathva and Mahesh Pithiya were batting on 27 and 5 respectively at close of play.
Subhranshu Senapati on 277 not out in Indore
In another Group D match in Indore, Subhranshu Senapati was still batting on 277 off 483 balls with the help of 19 fours and 11 sixes as Odisha amassed 493 for 8 in 169 overs at close of second day's play. He added 190 runs on Saturday after beginning the dat at individual score of 87.
Harshit Rathod was giving him company on 60.
No play in Jammu
There was no play in Jammu on the second day on Saturday between Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir due to bad light. Play was suspended after one over due to bad light on the opening day on Friday.
Brief Scores:
In Vadodara: Baroda 218 and 128 for 7 in 46 overs (Ninad Rathva 27 batting; Sagar Udeshi 4/52) vs Puducherry 155 all out in 59.5 overs (Akash Kargave 45; Bhargav Bhatt 5/49).
In Dharamsala: Uttarakhand 238 and 28 for 1 in 8 overs vs Himachal Pradesh 271 all out in 64 overs (Sumeet Verma 95; Deepak Dhapola 4/53).
In Indore: Odisha 493 for 8 in 169 lovers (Subhranshu Senapati 277 not out, Harshit Rathod 60 not out) vs Madhya Pradesh.
In Jammu: Delhi 0 for 0 in 1 over against Jammu and Kashmir as there was no play on the second day due to bad light.
Saurashtra in dire straits against Haryana
Defending champions Saurashtra were staring at defeat after being left tottering at 148 for six in their second innings against Haryana in their Ranji Trophy Group A match in Rajkot.
With Haryana left-arm spinner Nishant Sindhu grabbing three wickets on day two of the contest to wipe out Saurashtra's top order, the side led by India cricketer Jaydev Unadkat could lose the match on Day 3 itself as the defending champions have a lead of just 93 runs and only the tail-enders to fall back on.
Haryana, after dismissing Saurashtra for 145 on Friday, took the first-innings lead before their innings folded up for 200 with opener Ankit Kumar (74) and Himanshu Rana (70) working hard for their half-centuries.
The duo kept Haryana afloat and helped it take a first-innings lead of 55 runs before Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (3/58), Parth Bhut (3/34) and Yuvrajsinh Dodiya (4/55) dismissed them for 200 in 67 overs.
But the 55-run lead came in handy to put pressure on Saurashtra batters in the second innings, who succumbed to pressure tactics with dependable opener Harvik Desai departing for 15 and Cheteshwar Pujara, after getting a good start, getting dismissed on 43 by a Sindhu delivery.
Brief Scores:
Saurashtra 145 and 148/6 in 54 overs (Cheteshwar Pujara 43, Arpit Vasavada 45; Nishant Sindhu 3/50). Haryana 200 in 67 overs (Ankit Kumar 74, Himanshu Rana 70; Yuvrajsinh Dodiya 4/55, Parth Bhut 3/34, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 3/58).
In Pune: Jharkhand 403 in 126.2 overs (Kumar Suraj 83, Virat Singh 108; Hitesh Walunj 6/91). Maharashtra 149/1 in 42 overs (Pavan Shah not out 64, Naushad Shaikh not out 63).
In Delhi: Services: 424/3 in 154 overs (Nitin Tanwar 61, Ravi Chauhan 107, Anshul Gupta 128 not out, Rajat Paliwal 67 not out). Rajasthan.
In Ahmedabad: Manipur 75 and 65 in 32 overs (Aditya Sarwate 5/10) lost to Vidarbha 230 in 80.3 overs (Aditya Sarwate 69) by innings and 90 runs.
