Rohit Sharma hit a classy 148 and added 191 runs for the fifth wicket with Prashant Naik to practically shut out Delhi's chances of making it to the knock-out phase of Ranji Trophy Super League.
At stumps on the third day, Mumbai were 487 for 8, their lead extended to a massive 553 runs, which is virtually impossible to chase down in 90 overs on Saturday, the concluding day of the match.
Resuming at 74 for two, Mumbai scored 413 runs on a single day as Delhi's bowlers lost the plot in the last two sessions when the visitors were reduced to 169 for five before lunch.
After Rohit displayed his class for nearly four hours, with good support from Naik, it was young Iqbal Abdulla who took the already demoralised Delhi attack to cleaners with some lusty blows as the match became dead as a contest.
The match, billed as a contest between two of the best young talents in the country -- Rohit and Virat Kohli -- went in favour of the Mumbai lad as his silken drives and pull-shots were an absolute delight to watch.
Even national selector from North Zone Yashpal Sharma had a look of appreciation, as Rohit hit a couple of sixes each off pacers Pawan Suyal and Sumit Narwal. The way he pulled Suyal over deep mid-wicket was a delight to watch.
Naik (81, 159 balls, 15x4) too blossomed in Rohit's company, hitting some exquisite drives.
Rohit steered Pradeep Sangwan for a boundary to complete his century off only 97 deliveries. He was dismissed at the stroke of tea.
Once Rohit was dismissed with Mumbai's lead crossing the 400-run mark, the Delhi bowlers did not have any zeal to fight.
Abdulla joined the party as he repeatedly hit upper-cuts, scoring 73 off only 69 deliveries, inclusive of 11 boundaries and a six.
Even Moondeep Mangela hit five boundaries to remain unbeaten on 26.
Brief score:
Delhi (1st innings): 201
Mumbai (1st innings): 267 & 487 for 8 in 121 overs (Rohit Sharma 148, Prashant Naik 81, Iqbal Abdullah 73 not out; Sumit Narwal 3/84, Pradeep Sangwan 3/111).
Saurashtra beat Assam, retain Elite berth
The spin duo of Kamlesh Makwana and Ravindra Jadeja wrecked havoc as Saurashtra crushed Assam by 172 runs to secure five points and retain its place in the Ranji Trophy Elite division, in Rajkot, on Friday. While Makwana snared six wickets, Jadeja picked three.
Saurashtra were in a must-win situation, having only five points, while Assam needed a point to avert relegation, but on the turning track of the SCA stadium in Khandheri, the visiting batsmen could not resist Makwana and Jadeja while chasing a target of 249.
The visitors were bundled out for 76 in just 29.3 overs on the third day.
Saurashtra scored 140 runs in the first innings and restricted Assam to 127. In their second essay the hosts made 235 in which Jadeja contributed with 84 and set Assam a target of 249 runs to win.
Resuming at their overnight total of 233 for 9, Saurashtra's batsmen Saurya Sanandiya and Hardik Rathod could not do much, adding only two runs, and the hosts were all out of 235.
Arnel Konwar was the pick of the Assam bowlers, claiming four wickets and conceding 59 runs while Terjinder Singh finished with three for 34.
Chasing a target of 249, none of the Assam batsmen could resist the spin attack of Makwana-Jadeja duo and the visitors at one stage were 76 for 6, lost another four wickets without adding a single run.
S Sriram (24), Gokul Sharma (20), Abu Nachim Ahmed (16) and Amol Majumdar (12) could reach the double digit while five batsmen including Dhiraj Jadhav failed to open their account.
Makwana was the wrecker-in-chief, taking six wickets and conceding only 22 runs in his 10.3 overs. He was ably supported by Jadeja, who finished with three for 25 off his 13 overs.
With this win, Saurashtra secured five points and finished with 10 to retain their place in the elite division, while Assam, who needed a point failed to do so, were relegated to the plate division.
Brief score:
Saurashtra 140 & 233.
Assam 127 & 76 (S Sriram 24, Gokul Sharma 20, Abu Nachim Ahmed 16; Kamlesh Makwana 6-22, Ravindra Jadeja 3-25).
Pathan bowls Baroda to massive win over HP
Yusuf Pathan snared six wickets in a devastating spell as Baroda spanked Himachal Pradesh by an innings and 17 runs to qualify for the knock-out stage after finishing second in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group 'B'.
Pathan's fine bowling performance was the highlight of the match, which ended with more than a day's play to spare.
Pathan conceded just 74 runs in his brilliant spell and his performance also helped Baroda get a bonus point from the victory.
With the win, Baroda's points tally went up to 20, placing them second on the league table.
Resuming at the overnight score of 108 for four, the visitors failed to prolong the innings, losing six wickets for just 110 runs.
Only four batsmen -- Varun Sharma (43), Paras Dogra(53), Vinit Indulkar (36) and Rishi Dhavan (36) -- put up a fight as they put up 214 runs in the second innings.
Brief score:
HP (1st Innings): 119
Baroda (1st innings): 350
HP (2nd Innings): 214 all out in 87.2 overs (Paras Dogra 53, Varun Sharma 43; Yusuf Pathan 6/74.
Chawla hits 104 but UP concede lead to Karnataka
Piyush Chawla's second first class century went in vain as Karnataka took firm control of the proceedings on the penultimate day of their Ranji Trophy Super League Group B match in Kanpur on Friday.
Chawla scored a well-compiled 104 off 135 deliveries to guide UP to 319 in their first innings, in reply to Karnataka's 416.
At stumps, the visitors were sitting pretty at 178 for two in their second essay, an overall lead on 275 runs over UP, with just a day to go.
Amit Verma (31) and Manish Pandey (9) were at the crease when stumps were drawn after 42 overs.
Out-of-form Robin Uthappa (67) and K B Pawan (50) gave Karnataka a solid start in their second innings in a 128-run opening stand before both fell to Rohit Choudhary (2-45).
Earlier, resuming at 163 for five, Chawla and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar (62) carried on from where they left on Thursday evening and added 45 runs to their overnight 73-run seventh-wicket stand before the latter was
caught by Pandey off Stuart Binny.
Chawla then shared 45 runs for the eighth wicket with wicketkeeper Aamir Khan (39) before he was caught by Sreenath Arvind at the deep off Verma. The diminutive left-hander struck 18 fours and one lofty hit over the fence.
Rohit Choudhary (17) and Praveen Gupta (20 not out) too made useful contributions down the order but eventually it was not enough to overhaul Karnataka's first innings total. The home team fell short by 97 runs.
Udit Patel (3-92) and Verma (2-33) shone with the ball for Karnataka.
Brief score:
Karnataka: 416 & 178-2 in 42 overs (Robin Uthappa 67, K B Pawan 50; Rohit Choudhary 2/45).
Uttar Pradesh: (Overnight 163-5): 319 all out in 102.4 overs (Piyush Chawla 104, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 62; Udit Patel 3-92, Amit Verma 2-33).
Bengal face innings defeat by Railways
Railways are as good as through to the knock-out stage of the Ranji Trophy. They are at the verge of inflicting a humiliating innings defeat on Bengal, having reduced them to 105 for 6 in their second innings at the end of third day's play, in Delhi, on Friday.
It will be one of the most embarrassing defeats for Bengal in the last couple of years, especially with experienced former India captain Sourav Ganguly in their ranks. Bengal have now made a habit of losing crunch games as has happened thrice in two seasons.
They lost a do-or-die game to Uttar Pradesh last season in Ranji Trophy and lost three consecutive Vijay Hazare Trophy finals.
Even the much-hyped return of Sourav Ganguly (7) failed to lift Bengal. The veteran batsman was dismissed in identical fashion as in the first innings. He played on to his stumps as he found a nemesis in Anureet Singh.
With Arindam Das unlikely to bat on Saturday, Railways now need two wickets to wrap the proceedings.
Resuming on 250 for six, Railways, in reply to Bengal's score of 201 in their first essay, were 345 all out.
Overnight batsmen Dhiren Salvi and JP Yadav (24) gave Railways a good start, the former resuming on 35 and going on to score 81.
Even Nileshkumar Chauhan (26) contributed useful runs towards the end to give Railways an edge in the match.
Bengal, in their second essay, again failed to apply themselves as lost wickets at regular intervals.
Skipper Manoj Tiwary (17) and Dibyendu Chakrabarty (21) got debatable decisions.
The delivery from Murali Kartik that got Manoj out seemed to have pitched well outside the off-stump as the Bengal captain went for a sweep. Umpire PG Pathak raised his dreaded finger thinking the ball pitched in line of stumps.
Chakrabarty too seemed stunned after he was given out caught by Bangar off Kartik when it looked as if it hit him on the shoulders.
Brief score:
Bengal (1st innings): 201
Railways (1st innings): 345
Bengal (2nd innings): 105-6 (L Shukla 31 not out; J P Yadav 2-12, M Kartik 2-30).
Haryana trounce Orissa to enter knock-out stage
Haryana registered a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Orissa on the third day of their Ranji Trophy Super League Group B match to book a berth in the knock-out stage of the tournament, in Rohtak, on Friday.
Haryana, who were already on course for victory, played according to the script on Friday to first bundle out Orissa for just 170 and then chase down the target of 144 easily.
Resuming at 64 for 5, overnight Orissa batsmen Biplab Samantray, batting on 4, and Subhrajit Sahoo on 10, did not let the Haryana bowlers dominate as they hold on to their wickets.
The duo battled it out in the middle, playing with assurance and went on to put up a valuable 63-run partnership before Samantray gave in.
It was skipper Amit Mishra who drew first blood for Haryana by dismissing Samantray (31 off 95 balls) in the 54th over.
Mishra was quick to add another wicket to his kitty, this time by sending back Sahoo after a well-made 50 from 72 balls, inclusive of six fours.
Thereafter, although Lagnajit Samal (18) and Alok Sahoo (20) tried to consolidate the innings, in a brief 33-run stand, Orissa's second innings folded for a mere 170.
Mishra finished with figures of three for 49, while Joginder Sharma (2-34), Sachin Rana (2-34) and Ajit Chandila (2-15) took two wickets each.
Haryana, who already had a 27-run first innings lead, hence had to chase only 144 runs for victory, which they achieved comprehensively, losing just three wickets.
Openers Nitin Saini (67) and Rahul Dewan (23), and then Ankit Rawat (34 not out), chipped in with their useful contributions to drive Haryana home.
Earlier, in the first innings, Orissa were bundled out for 175, while Haryana scored 202.
Brief score:
Orissa (1st innings): 175
Haryana (1st innings): 202
Orissa (2nd innings): 170 all in 67 overs (Subhrajit Sahoo 50; Amit Mishra 3-49, Ajit Chandila 2-15).
Haryana (2nd innings): 144-3 (Nitin Saini 67; Basanth Mohanty 2-28).
TN-Gujarat third day washed out
Overnight rains rendered play impossible on the penultimate day of the four-day Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match between Gujarat and Tamil Nadu in Chennai on Friday.
Umpires held three inspections and abandoned the match without a ball being bowled because of wet ground conditions.
After Gujarat folded for 173 in their first innings, Tamil Nadu were comfortably placed at 158 for three and on the verge of gaining the vital first innings lead.
