Haryana humbled defending champions Saurashtra in their own backyard by four wickets in a low-scoring Ranji Trophy match in Rajkot on Sunday.
Resuming the third day on 148/6, Saurashtra stretched their second innings to 220 with the help of skipper Jaydev Unadkat (23) and Parth Bhut (47), setting a 166-run target for Haryana.
Haryana did have some anxious moments before getting home in the final session, having lost three quick wickets. Ashok Menaria (58 not out) anchored the chase with Rahul Tewatia (10 not out) at the other end.
Saurashtra let the game slip away from them on the opening day when they were bundled out for 145 with Jayant Yadav taking a five-wicket haul.
Haryana had made 200 in their first innings with Saurashtra doing well to dismiss the opposition after the visitors made a strong start.
The game was dominated by spinners including Jayant and Nishant Sindhu from Haryana. From the hosts' side, veteran Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Parth Bhut and Yuvrajsinh Jadeja were the main wicket takers.
Cheteshwar Pujara made 49 and 43 in his two innings.
It was the first defeat of the season for Saurashtra who had got three points against Jharkhand in their opening game of the season.
For Haryana, it was a timely result as they had to share a point each with Rajasthan in their opening game in which only 42 overs could be bowled due to bad light.
Brief scores:
In Rajkot: Saurashtra 145 and 220 (Cheteshwar Pujara 43; Nishant Sindhu 5/84) lost to Haryana 168/6 in 59.1 overs and 200 (Ashok Menaria 58 not out) by four wickets.
In Pune: Jharkhand 403 all out vs Maharashtra 543 all out in 132 overs (Kedar Jadhav 182, Pavan Shah 136, Ankit Bawne 114 not out).
In Delhi: Services 466/4 decl in 161.2 overs (Anshul Gupta 149, Ravi Chauhan 107, Rajat Paliwal 108 not out) vs Rajasthan 131/9 in 59 overs (Shubham Sharma 36; Arjun Sharma 3/32).
Mulani's 9-wkt haul propels Mumbai to brink of win
Left-arm spinner Shams Mulani claimed a stellar nine-wicket haul to put Mumbai on the brink of a big win against Andhra in their Ranji Trophy Group B fixture in Mumbai on Sunday.
Mulani wreaked havoc on Andhra's batting lineup, scalping an impressive 6/65 wickets in the first innings to help Mumbai shoot out Andhra for 184 in 72 overs.
Forced to bat again, Andhra were reduced to 17/3 in the second essay inside the first hour with Mulani accounting for two of the top-three en route to his figures of 3/63.
The 26-year-old's ability to extract turn and maintain control over the proceedings left Andhra struggling to stage a fightback as they found themselves tottering at 166/5 following-on.
Veteran Hanuma Vihari showed some resilience with a resolute 101-ball 46 but seamer Royston Dias accounted for him.
Andhra's battle revolved around Shaik Rasheed who remained unbeaten on 52 (103b) in company with their bowling hero Nitish Reddy (22 batting).
The Ricky Bhui-led side need to score 47 more to avoid an innings defeat and make Mumbai bat again.
Rana keeps UP's hopes alive
Nitish Rana led from the front with an unbeaten 47 after Samarth Singh (54) and Aryan Juyal (42) failed to convert their starts to give home side Uttar Pradesh a glimmer of hope after their first innings setback against Bengal at Green Park Stadium in Kanpur.
His aggressive yet composed knock, marked by five boundaries and two sixes, played a key role in guiding UP to 178/4 in their second essay, a crucial 50-run lead going into the final day.
Bengal, who are desperate for a win after managing just one-point against Andhra in their Ranji opener, found solace in pacer Mohammed Kaif, who was their lone contributor with 3/72.
The younger brother of India speedster Mohammed Shami, Kaif had claimed 4/14 to bundle out UP for 60 ain their first innings.
Kaif dismissed Samarth Singh (54), Aryan Juyal (42), and Priyam Garg (12) in UP's top-four to bolster Bengal's hopes.
Under fading lights, UP lost Garg and Karna Sharma (4) in successive overs but Rana held the fort with Akashdeep Nath (11 not out) as the match is poised for a tantalising final day.
Chhattisgarh on top against Bihar
Rishabh Tiwari's magnificent 138 and Ashutosh Singh's unbeaten 134 gave Chhattisgarh a commanding 221-run first innings lead after the away side declared for 329/2.
Facing a significant deficit, Bihar's second innings showed some signs of resilience.
Sharman Nigrodh's 60 and Babul Kumar's 52 laid the foundation, and the team reached 144/3 at the end of Day 3.
Chhattisgarh's Jivesh Butte, Gagandeep Singh and Sourabh Majumdar claimed a wicket each, but Bihar displayed determination to narrow the deficit to 77 runs.
The spotlight will be on Bihar's middle order to stage a comeback in what promises to be an intriguing final day in Patna.
Brief Scores:
In Mumbai: Mumbai 395 vs Andhra 184; 72 overs (Prasanth Kumar 73; Shams Mulani 6/65) and following on 164/5; 51 overs (Shaik Rasheed 52 not out; Mulani 3/63).
In Kanpur: Uttar Pradesh 60 and 178/4 in 52 overs (Samarth Singh 54, Nitish Rana 47 not out, Aryan Juyal 42; Mohammed Kaif 3/72) vs Bengal 188.
In Patna: Bihar 108 and 144/3 in 40 overs (Sharman Nigrodh 60, Babul Kumar 52) vs Chhattisgarh 329/2 decl in 83 overs (Rishabh Tiwari 138, Ashutosh Singh 134 not out).
In Guwahati: Kerala 419 vs Assam 231/7 in 62 overs (Riyan Parag 116; Basil Thampi 4/69).
Bhatt takes six as Baroda thrash Puducherry
Exploiting helpful conditions, veteran left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt returned a six-wicket haul to lead Baroda to a comprehensive 98-run win over Puducherry in their Ranji Trophy Group D match in Vadodara.
The 33-year-old bowler, who had taken a five-wicket haul in the first innings, totalled 11 wickets for the match, his fourth 10-wicket haul in first-class cricket.
Baroda, led by Vishnu Solanki, after setting Puducherry 218-run target for victory, dismissed the opponents for 119 in 35.1 overs on day 3 of the tournament, with Bhatt (6/46) doing the maximum damage.
He was assisted by young leg-spinner Mahesh Pithiya, who made full use of the conditions to grab four second-innings wickets as the two slow bowlers made merry taking all 10 wickets.
The day started with the match evenly poised. Baroda were tottering at 128/7 before they folded soon for 154 with Kinit Patel (28) emerging the highest scorer.
However, the 218 Baroda scored on day 1 and the way their slow bowlers dismissed Puducherry for 155 to take a handy 63-run first-innings lead, gave them enough cushion to defend the 218-run target.
Bhatt, after his fine 5/49 in his first innings, came back to demolish Puducherry in the second essay.
The left-right combination of Bhatt and Pithiya did not allow the Puducherry batters to settle down even as the deteriorating day 3 pitch did its job.
Gaurav Yadav was the only Puducherry batter to get past 30 with Bhatt returning a superb economy rate of 2.55 in his 18 overs.
Brief Scores:
In Vadodara: Baroda 218 and 154 in 48.5 overs (Sagar Udeshi 6/70) beat Puducherry 155 and 119 in 35.1 overs (Bhargav Bhatt 6/46, Mahesh Pithiya 4/49) by 98 runs.
In Indore: Odisha 498 in 170.2 overs (Subhranshu Senapati 277, Harshit Rathod 60 not out) vs Madhya Praesh 246/6 in 80.3 overs (Harsh Gawli 137 not out).
In Dharamsala: Uttarakhand 238 and 227 in 71.5 overs (Aditya Tare 79; Abhishek Kumar 5/43). Himachal Pradesh 271 and 39/6 in 12.1 overs (Deepak Dhapola 5/16).
In Jammu: Delhi 3/0 in 3 overs.
