Out-of-favour India spinner Romesh Powar struck an unbeaten 125 and shared a crucial 163-run eighth wicket stand with Omkar Khanvilkar (87) to put Mumbai in the driver's seat with a 212-run first innings lead over Punjab at stumps on Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match in Chandigarh on Thursday.
Resuming their innings at the overnight score of 244 for 7, Powar and Khanvilkar played with utmost confidence and never seemed to be in any trouble against the Punjab bowlers.
The duo played with ease as Mumbai finally declared at 471 runs for the loss of nine wickets in reply to Punjab's total of 259 all out.
Khanvilkar made a cautious 87 off 213 balls, inclusive of nine hits to the fence and a towering six, before he was caught in front of the wicket by Rahul Sharma.
Powar's 227-ball unbeaten innings was studded with 17 fours. The burly off-spinner was also instrumental in stitching a 53-run partnership for the ninth wicket with Zaheer Khan (17 off 18 balls).
Zaheer, who returned to cricket after nursing a shoulder injury, was clean bowled by Harmeet B Singh.
Last-man D Kulkarni made useful 15 not out in the company of Powar as the duo put up 27 important runs.
Punjab's bowlers looked out of sorts as Mumbai's last three batsmen piled up 227 runs.
Love Ablish (4/107) and Manpreet Gony (2/99) were the pick of the bowlers for the hosts.
At the draw of stumps, Punjab were struggling at 55 for one in their second innings with Ravi Inder Singh (26 not out) and Uday Kaul (24 not out) at the crease.
Niraj ton propels Gujarat
Ahmedabad: Riding on Niraj Patel's dominating 107 Gujarat set Orissa an improbable target of 379 to win in their Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match at the Sardar Vallabhai Patel Stadium on Thursday.
Gujarat, who piled up 270 runs in first innings and then skittled out the visitors for 192, declared their second innings at 301 for six on Day 3.
Orissa were 10 for one after 3.4 overs, with skipper Shiv Sunder Das (1) unbeaten when play was called off for the day.
Niraj, who cracked 13 boundaries and one six during his 188-ball stay, shared a 108-run partnership with skipper Parthiv Patel (76, 4X8) to consolidate Gujarat's position, after they were reduced to 1/88.
Later, Bhavik Thaker also chipped in with a 48-ball 52.
Delhi sniff first innings lead
Vadodara: Rakesh Solanki (55) and Pinal Shah (63) struck fighting fifties to guide Baroda to 319 for nine but Delhi is certain to take the crucial first innings lead in the Super League match.
In reply to Delhi's mammoth first innings total of 591, Baroda ended day three still trailing the visitors by a huge 172-run margin.
Resuming the day at 21 for no loss, Baroda looked in trouble at 171 for five before Pinal, batting at number seven, showed lot of heart as he and Rakesh Solanki propped the innings. The duo put on 101 runs for the sixth wicket before Solanki fell to Parwinder Awana.
Shah then added another 69 for the seventh wicket with Rajesh Pawar, who was unbeaten on 42 at the draw of stumps.
Karnataka has UP on the ropes
Meerut: Rahul Dravid struck a brisk, unbeaten 51 while KB Pawan and Robin Uthappa also struck half-centuries as Karnataka tightened the noose around Uttar Pradesh's neck in the Ranji Trophy Super League Group B match.
In reply to Karnataka's first innings total of 405, UP began the day at 214 for eight and collapsed for 279, a total made possible by the spectacular rearguard defiance by Amir Khan (61) and their number nine batsman Praveen Gupta (55 not out).
In their second innings, Karnataka's top and lower order fired in unison, with Pawan (78) and Uthappa (56) adding 95 for the opening stand, while Amit Verma (35), Dravid (51 not out off 44 balls), Manish Pandey (35) and B Akhil (33) guiding the team to 311 for five when Dravid declared the innings.
Chasing an improbable victory target of 438 runs, UP lost opener Tanmay Srivastava (12) to reach 29 for one when stumps were drawn.
At stumps, Shivakant Shukla (10) and Ravikant Shukla (7) were at the crease with the hosts needing another 409 runs with nine wickets remaining.
Badri ton guides Tamil Nadu to 312 for 8
New Delhi: S Badrinath's patient 111 guided Tamil Nadu 312 for eight as the visitors stayed in hunt for the all-important first innings lead against Railways in their Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match.
In reply to Railways' first innings total of 327, Tamil Nadu ended day three with C Ganapathy (17) and R Jesuraj (0) at the crease with the side needing another 16 runs for a first innings lead.
Tamil Nadu, resuming at 150 for two, suffered their first loss of the day when Vijay, who struck seven boundaries in his innings, fell to spinner Murali Karthik (3/89) in the 49th over.
Although Badrinath anchored brilliantly on one end, none of his colleagues could give him much support as Tamil Nadu kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
Karthik and paceman Shailender Gehlot, who scalped two wickets for 67 runs, were the successful bowlers for the hosts, while Sanjay Bangar and Sanjib Sanyal bagged a wicket each.
