Karnataka's Manish Pandey continued his domination of the Mumbai attack by notching his second century in as many matches against the 39-time Ranji Trophy champions before retiring due to cramps in the Elite Group A match at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday.
Pandey stroked his way to a fluent 101 off 114 balls before retiring to the dressing room because of leg cramps.
Mumbai fought back to trigger a mini collapse before Karnataka recovered to a healthy 316 for 5 at stumps on day one after electing to bat, with Amit Verma (44) and skipper R Vinay Kumar (21) the not out batsmen at close.
Apart from Pandey, who faced 114 balls and struck 13 fours and a six, Ganesh Satish made an attractive 83 in 181 balls, with eleven fours, and opener Robin Uthappa produced a whirlwind 49 off only 53 balls, with ten hits to the fence, before getting out to an outstanding catch behind the stumps.
When Pandey, who had struck a brilliant ton when the two teams met last in the Ranji final two season ago at Mysore, left the ground before tea, Karnataka were sitting pretty at 202 for 2.
The visitors then progressed to 236 at the break and then were 245 without further loss when they lost three quick wickets for 23 runs.
However, a steady, unbeaten knock in 113 balls and 141 minutes by left-hander Verma - after he was let off on 10 when the total was 289 for 4 -- and his unfinished stand of 48 runs with Vinay Kumar for the sixth wicket kept Mumbai from making further inroads.
With Pandey expected to resume his innings on the morrow, Karnataka can hope for a score in excess of 400 at least, if they can negotiate the new ball, which was taken four overs before stumps when their total stood at 299 for 5.
For Mumbai, Dhawal Kulkarni struck an early blow by sending back opener K B Pawan for a duck in the eighth over, and Abhishek Nayar grabbed Uthappa's wicket.
The other three wickets were claimed by the two left arm spinners -- Iqbal Abdulla and Ankit Chavan -- with the former claiming the wickets of C M Gautham and Stuart Binny in seven balls after Chavan had dismissed Satish.
Brief Scores: Karnataka 316 for 5 (R Uthappa 49, G Satish 83, M Pandey 101 retired, A Verma batting 44, Vinay Kumar batting 21; I Abdulla 2 for 70) vs Mumbai.
Rajasthan well-placed after Menaria's unbeaten ton
Ashok Menaria scored a superb unbeaten century as defending champions Rajasthan scored 257 for 2 in the Elite Division match against Railways at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi.
He was unbeaten on 142 off 267 balls, including 13 fours and two sixes, in the company of Robin Bist (85) when stumps were drawn for the day, after Rajasthan opted to bat.
Though Rajasthan did not get off to a good start, losing both the openers -- skipper Aakash Chopra (0) and Vineet Saxena (9) -- cheaply, Menaria and Bist stitched an unbeaten 240-run stand for the third wicket to put the team in a strong position.
While Menaria took his chances and went for shots, Bist's 85 not out came off 271 balls, studded with nine fours.
For Railways, JP Yadav (one for 43) and Anureet Singh (one for 90) were the only two bowlers who could take a wicket each.
Rajasthan have only two points from two draws, having conceded the first innings lead in their earlier matches, while Railways are yet to open their accounts after two losses from as many matches.
Brief Scores: Rajasthan 257 for 2 in 92 overs (Ashok Menaria not out 142, Robin Bist not out 85; JP Yadav 1-43) vs Railways.
Samantray puts Orissa in strong position
Biplab Samantray slammed a strokeful unbeaten century as Orissa scored 295 for three on the opening day of their Elite Division match against Uttar Pradesh in Sambalpur, Orissa.
He unbeaten on 110 off 186 balls, with the help of 15 fours and two sixes, in the company of Abhilash Mallick (38) at stumps after the home side opted to bat at the Veer Surendra Sai Stadium.
Besides Samantray's century, other Orissa batsmen also did well, with opener and captain Natraj Behra contributing 53 and Niranjan Behera 54 in the Group A match.
After opener Sumitosh Praharaj was out for 26 at team's total of 44, Natraj and Nilanjan Behera stitched 57 runs for the second wicket before the former was dismissed.
Nilanjan Behera and Samatray then stitched 87 runs for the third wicket before the latter shared 107 for the unseparated fourth wicket stand.
For Uttar Pradesh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Praveen Gupta and Arish Alam took a wicket apiece.
Uttar Pradesh had secured six points from two draws while Orissa are yet to open their accounts with a draw and a loss.
Brief Scores: Orissa 295-3 in 92 overs (Biplab Samantray 110 not out, Natraj Behra 53, Niranjan Behera 54) v Uttar Pradesh.
Jogiyani's 126 propels Saurashtra
Wicketkeeper Sagar Jogiyani hit an unbeaten 126 to guide Saurashtra to 280 for four against Punjab in the Group A Elite division match in Mohali.
Jogiyani struck 14 boundaries en route to his century-plus innings that came off 255 balls.
Apart from Jogiyani, opener Bhushan Chauhan scored 68 off 173 balls during which he struck seven fours, while India ODI all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja scored 24 off 17 balls.
Jogiyani and Shitanshu Kotak (25) were at the crease when stumps were drawn at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium.
Put into bat by rival skipper Harbhajan Singh, Saurashtra's start was far from rosy, as they lost opener Chirag Pathak (22) in the seventh over.
Next-man-in, Jogiyani then joined hands with Chauhan and stitched a 169-run stand for the second wicket to steady the innings.
Amitoze Singh provided the breakthrough, claiming Chauhan's wicket with the scoreboard reading 195 for two.
Saurashtra lost two wickets in quick succession in the form of Jadeja and skipper Jaydev Shah (0) as the Punjab bowlers tried to make a comeback.
However, Kotak negotiated the day along with Jogiyani to ensure that Saurashtra did not lose another wicket.
For Punjab, Manpreet Gony finished with 2 for 83 while Amitoze and Brainder Sran claimed a wicket each.
Brief Scores: Saurashtra 280 for 4 in 90 overs (Sagar Jogiyani 126 not out, Bhushan Chauhan 68, Manpreet Gony 2-83) vs Punjab.
Dewan, Saini centuries hoist Haryana
Openers Rahul Dewan and Nitin Saini hit centuries to guide Haryana to 281 for three against Baroda on the opening day of the Group B Elite match at the Moti Bagh stadium in Vadodara.
Dewan was unbeaten on 131 off 263 balls. Giving him company when stumps were drawn for the day was Harshal Patel (7).
Dewan and Saini forged a brilliant 239-run partnership for the opening wicket before the latter was sent packing by MY Vahora in the 77th over.
Saini scored 112 from 226 balls, studded with 15 boundaries and a six.
Sunny Singh then joined Dewan but his stay lasted only eight balls as Swapnil dislodged his stumps to reduce Haryana to 240 for two after Baroda won the toss and elected to field.
Abhimanyu Khod (12) then scored a couple of boundaries before getting caught behind by Pinal Shah off Bhargav Bhatt's delivery.
For Baroda, Vohara, Bhatt and Singh took a wicket each.
Baroda have seven points with one win from two matches, while Haryana drew both their matches and are placed sixth in Group B with two points.
Brief Scores: Haryana 281 for 3 in 90 overs (R Dewan batting 131, N Saini 112; Swapnil Singh 1-25) vs Baroda.
Tamil Nadu dismiss Delhi for 212
Delhi's batsmen continued their dismal show as the hosts were dismissed for 212 against Tamil Nadu in a third round Elite Group match at the Ferozshah Kotla.
Debutant pacer Jagannathan Kaushik (3-41), skipper Laxmipathy Balaji (3-42) and left-arm spinner R Aushik Srinivas (3-48) shared the spoils for Tamil Nadu, as only opener Unmukt Chand (86, 152 balls, 14x4, 1x6) and Yogesh Nagar (59, 142 balls, 4x4, 2x6) made significant contributions for the hosts.
In seven overs that they batted, Tamil Nadu were eight without loss.
In the post-tea session, Delhi's batsmen suddenly went into a shell as they lost five wickets, scoring only 26 runs in 21 overs.
The pitch had a fair amount of grass, but according to Delhi captain Mithun Manhas the look of it was "deceiving as the ball was not coming onto the bat after a point of time."
Brief Scores: Tamil Nadu 8-0 vs Delhi 212 in 80.5 overs (Unmukt Chand 86, Yogesh Nagar 59, J Kaushik 3-41, L Balaji 3-42, R Aushik Srinivas 3-48).
