Ranji Trophy: Mohit Avasthi takes 7/52 as Mumbai crush Bengal

Mohit Avasthi ran through the Bengal batting lineup, grabbing seven wickets for 52 runs as Mumbai stormed to an innings and four-run win with a bonus point in their Ranji Trophy Group B match in Kolkata on Sunday.

Avasthi finished with a 10-wicket haul in the match, having taken 3/63 in Bengal's first innings, as the hosts were bowled out for 209 in their second innings after being asked to follow-on.

A collective batting effort in the first innings had given Mumbai a formidable 412 at the start of the game, which allowed them to dominate Bengal.

The hosts, despite a valiant 109 from Anustup Majumdar, had folded up for 199, giving Mumbai a first-innings lead of 213 runs, following which they enforced the follow-on.

The 31-year-old right-arm pacer Avasthi not only recorded his third five-for in the five Ranji matches so far this season, he also grabbed his third Player-of-the-Match award.

At the Moin ul Haq Stadium in Patna, hosts Bihar were staring at a massive defeat at the hands of Andhra at stumps on the third day.

Bihar were precariously placed at 111/8 in their second innings, trailing by another 170 runs, with Andhra closing in on a victory by an innings.

Bihar had made 182 in the first innings and conceded a 281-run lead after Andhra posted 463, powered by Nithish Kumar Reddy's 159.

In the second innings, Bihar were left struggling as Andhra bowlers Lalith Mohan (4/27) and KV Sasikanth (3/8) shared seven wickets to continue the domination for their side.

At the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium in Ranchi, hosts Chhattisgarh conceded a slender 38-run lead against visiting side Kerala, who had taken their overall lead to 100 runs by the end of the day's play.

Having posted 350 in their first innings, Kerala bowled out Chhattisgarh for 312 despite a fine 118 from KD Eknath. For the visitors, Nidheesh MD and Jalaj Saxena took three wickets apiece while Basil Thampi took two.

In reply, Kerala reached 69/2 at stumps on the third day's play with opening batsman Rohan Kunnummal making an aggressive 36 which included six hits to the fence.

Meanwhile, the run-fest continued at the Green Park Stadium in Kanpur with visiting side Assam reaching 316/2 in reply to home team Uttar Pradesh's total of 548/8 declared.

Having declared their innings overnight, Uttar Pradesh were made to work hard for wickets by the Assam batters with opener Parvej Musaraf scoring 129 and his partner Rahul Hazarika hitting 128, while adding 274 for the first wicket.

Musaraf faced 295 balls to make 129 with the help of 14 fours and two sixes while Hazarika made an identical score, cracking 21 fours to reach 128 from 265 balls. Both these batters were accounted for by Uttar Pradesh bowler Shivam Sharma, who effected similar dismissals of leg before wicket against them.

At stumps, Uttar Pradesh were still ahead by 232 runs.

Brief scores:

At Kolkata: Mumbai 412 beat Bengal 199 and 209 in 59.4 overs (Abhishek Porel 82; Mohit Avasthi 7/52) by an innings and 4 runs. Points: Mumbai 7, Bengal 0. 

At Patna: Bihar 182 and 111/8 in 47 overs (Babul Kumar 34 not out; Lalith Mohan 4/27, KV Sasikanth 3/8) trail Andhra 463 by 170 runs.

At Raipur: Kerala 350 and 69/2 in 18 overs (Rohan Kunnummal 36; Ashish Chouhan 1/17) lead Chhattisgarh 312 in 103 overs (Sanjeet Desai 56, KD Eknath 118 not out, Ajay Mandal 63; Jalaj Saxena 3/31) by 107 runs.

At Kanpur: Uttar Pradesh 548/8d lead Assam 316/2 in 113 overs (Parvej Musaraf 129, Rahul Hazarika 128; Shivam Sharma 2/77) by 232 runs.

Bhut scares Maharashtra into submission

Left-arm spinner Parth Bhut did the star turn with seven wickets and fashioned a 48-run victory for Saurashtra over Maharashtra in their Elite Ranji Trophy Group A match in Solapur on Sunday.

The 26-year-old Bhut returned excellent figures of 7/44, as Saurashtra bowled out Maharashtra for 164 in their second innings after being set a target of 208 on the third and penultimate afternoon of the match.

Off-spinner Yuvrajsinh Dodiya supported Bhut well with two wickets, while Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, who also bowls left-arm spin, picked up one to cap off a fine all-round performance.

Jadeja's first-innings knock of 72, at a time when his team was desperately looking for someone to bail them out of a precarious situation, and his 118-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Prerak Mankad (52), went a long way in Saurasthra sealing the match in their favour.

Jadeja also picked up four wickets in Maharashtra's first innings, and combined with Bhut and Dodiya, to bowl their opponents out for 159 and ensure a handy first-innings lead of 43 runs for their team.

Bhut, who was out for a golden duck and was one of three Saurashtra batters to have failed to open their account in the second innings -- Cheteshwar Pujara and Harvik Desai being the other two -- made up for his failure with the bat with a brilliant show with the ball.

Bhut, who had grabbed two wickets to leave Maharashtra struggling at 104/5 at stumps on the third evening and still 104 runs adrift of the target, picked up all the five wickets to fall in the final morning to secure full points for his team.

Brief scores:

In Solapur: Saurashtra 202 and 164 in 43.2 overs (Chirag Jani 42, Jaydev Unadkat  45; Hitesh Walunj 8/70) beat Maharashtra 159 and 164 all out in 51.4 overs (Taranjitsingh Dhillon 28; Parth Bhut 7/44) by 48 runs.