Ranji Trophy: Hyderabad in control over J&K

Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir find itself in a tight corner after Hyderabad reduced the hosts to 198 for six in their first innings in reply to the visiting team's mammoth 514 for eight declared at stumps on the third and penultimate day of a Group C Ranji Trophy match, here today.

Bandeep Singh scored a strokeful 58 for J&K which came off 82 deliveries and was laced with 10 hits to the fence. Skipper Parvez Rasool made a breezy 24 off 17 balls with the help of three fours and one six before he was cleaned up by left-arm spinner Mehdi Hasan (3/55), who was the pick of Hyderabad bowlers.

At the close of play, Hardeep Singh (32 batting) and Samiullah Beigh (30 batting) were at the crease. The duo so far stitched an unbeaten 57-run stand for the seventh wicket after J&K were tottering at 141 for six at one stage. A improbable task awaits J&K on the final day tomorrow as in order to avoid conceding the vital first innings lead to Hyderabad, the hosts still need to score 316 runs with just four wickets in hand.

Apart from Hasan, medium pacer M Ravi Kiran picked up two wickets giving away 32 runs. Earlier resuming their first innings at 341 for four, D B Ravi Teja (179) added 26 runs to his overnight score before his marathon knock was cut short by Rasool, stumped by Obaid Haroon.

But Amol Shinde smashed an attacking 97 off 104 balls to take Hyderabad forward. Shinde struck as many as 13 boundaries during his knock before becoming Rasool's victim.

Rasool shone with the ball for J&K picking up four wickets for 99 runs.

Brief Scores: Hyderabad 1st innings: 514 for eight decl in 118 overs (DB Ravi Teja 179, Hanuma Vihari 109, Amol Shinde 97; Parvez Rasool 4/99).

Jammu and Kashmir: 198 for six in 55 overs (Bandeep Singh 58, Hardeep Singh 32 batting, Samiullah Beigh 30 batting; Mehdi Hasan 3/55, M Ravi Kiran 2/32).

Kerala in sight of victory over Goa

Kerala in sight of victory over Goa

Porvorim: Kerala looked set for victory against Goa in their Ranji Trophy group C match as 15 wickets fell today with bowlers dominating the show at Academy ground here.

Resuming their overnight score of zero without loss, Kerala, who took 31 runs first innings lead, failed to dominate in the second innings as they fell to the guile of the Goan spinners and were all out for 147 in 62.5 overs.

They set Goa a target of 179 to win. Goa's batsmen fumbled again in the second innings against a disciplined bowling from the visitors and were tottering at 82 for 5 when play ended, still needing 97 to win with five wickets in hand on the final day tomorrow.

Keenan Vaz (33), who is putting a lone battle to avoid defeat, is batting well along with Ravikant Shukla (04) to remain not out batsman.

Medium pacer B Magaldas sent back overnight batsman N Surendran (0) and V A Jagdeesh (11) cheaply to have Kerala under pressure with the score at 12.

Shadab Jakati, who took advantage of the turning wicket along with Amit Yadav, then dismissed R M Fernandes (12) when he had him plumbed infront of the wicket with the score at 36.

Sachin Baby (0), T M Ansal (8) and P R Prem (13) all fell in quick succession without adding to Kerala score of 36.

V Manoharan (40) and P Prasant (46) put on useful 83 runs for the seventh wicket to take the score past 100 before they fell in quick succession with the score at 138.

Shadab, who spun the ball well along with Amit Yadav, dismissed the last batsman N Niyas (4) to have Kerala all out for 147, finished with four wickets. Amit Yadav claimed three wickets and B Mangaldas took two. For the visitors, P Parameswaran dealt the early blow when he had opener A S Desai (10) and Sagun Kamat (1) with the score at 26.

V A Jagdeesh than dismissed Swapnil Asnodkar (21) and Darshan Misal (0) to grab two wickets. Vinoop S M was the other successful bowler who took the wicket of Rohit Asnodkar (18).

Pacers Rajpoot, Ahmed ensure first innings lead for UP

Pacers Rajpoot, Ahmed ensure first innings lead for UP

Kanpur: Pacers Ankit Rajpoot (5/37) and Imtiaz Ahmed (4/39) wrecked havoc with the new ball to bundle out Madhya Pradesh for 115 and ensure a vital 135 runs first innings lead for Uttar Pradesh on the third and penultimate day of a Group B Ranji Trophy match, here today.

Rajpoot and Ahmed used the favourable cold and misty conditions at the Green Park stadium to perfection to bowl out MP for the paltry score in their first essay in reply to UP's 250 after the second day's play was called off yesterday without a single ball being bowled due to bad weather.

Resuming their innings at four for no loss, MP batsmen found the duo of Rajpoot and Ahmed tough to handle as wickets fell like nine pins before the visitors were bowled out in 47.1 overs.

Anand Bais top-scored for MP with a 45-ball 28 followed by Mohnish Mishra (22).

Apart from Rajpoot and Ahmed, leg-spinner Amit Mishra (1/25) picked up the other wicket for UP.

At stumps, UP were 78 for three in their second innings, thereby extending their overall lead to 213 runs.

Skipper Suresh Raina was batting on 41 and giving him company was Mohammad Kaif on four.

For MP, fast bowler Puneet Datey scalped two wickets for 34 runs while Ishwar Pandey (1/22) was the other beneficiary.

Brief Scores:

UP: 250 & 78 for three in 24 overs (Suresh Raina 41 batting; Puneet Datey 2/34).

MP: 115 all out in 47.1 overs (Anand Bais 28; Ankit Rajpoot 5/37, Imtiaz Ahmed 4/39).

Baroda take overall lead to 296 on day 3 against Saurashtra

Baroda take overall lead to 296 on day 3 against Saurashtra

Rajkot: Baroda today took an upper hand by extending their overall lead to 296 as they reached 207 for six in their second innings at the end of day three in their Ranji Trophy Group B match against Saurashtra here today.

Despite Saurashtra medium pacer Jaydev Unadkat taking four wickets in Baroda's second innings, the visitors, who had a crucial 89-run first innings lead, ended the day in a comfortable position.

Pinal Shah (31) and Utkarsh Patel (31) were the unbeaten batsmen at the crease at the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) stadium at Khandheri here.

Baroda lost opener Dhiren Mistry (10) and one-down batsman Kedar Devdhar (21) early and it looked as if Saurashtra would bounce back.

But first innings centurion -- Saurabh Wakaskar (69 runs, 98b, 5X4,1X6) and Aditya Waghmode (28) -- added 74 runs for the third wicket to take the match away from the home team.

A dramatic collapse engineered by Unadkat again pushed Baroda on to the backfoot. In quick succession he dismissed Wakaskar, Waghmode, Irfan Pathan (0) and Yusuf Pathan (17) to leave Baroda reeling 158 for 6.

From 125 for two they suddenly lost four wickets for just 33 runs.

But Pinal Shah and Utkarsh (batting 31) made sure that there was no further damage as they added 49 runs for the unbroken seventh wicket.

Unadkat was the most successful bowler taking four for 30, while Vishal Joshi claimed two for 46.

Earlier, resuming at 215 for six, Baroda spinners Utkarsh Patel and Murtua Vahora picked up wickets at regular intervals to wrap up Saurashtra for 311.

Patel, who had grabbed three wickets yesterday, today removed overnight batsman Arpit Vasavada (29) and Vishal Joshi (0) in quick succession, while Vahora clean bowled Makawana (30).

Dharmendra Jadeja (44) and Unadkat (15 not out) frustrated Baroda's bowlers by adding 53 runs for the last wicket and helped Saurashtra cross 300-run mark.

Utkarsh Patel was wrecker-in-chief, taking five for 70, while Vahora picked up three for 55.

Brief Scores:

Baroda 400 & 207 for 6 (Saurabh Wakaskar 69; Jaydev Unadkat 4/30, Vishal Joshi 2/46).

Saurashtra: 311 (Sheldon Jackson 74, Bhushan Chauhan 49, Utkarsh Patel 5/70).

Maharsahtra takes upperhand against HP

Maharsahtra takes upperhand against HP

Pune: Middle-order batsman Ankit Bawane struck an unbeaten 138 as hosts Maharashtra dished out a commanding batting display to declare their first innings at 488 for six in reply to Himachal Pradesh's 228 on the third day of a Group C Ranji Trophy match, here today.

At stumps, HP were 98 for one in their second essay with Varun Sharma batting on 35 and Paras Dogra on 41.

HP still trail Maharashtra by 162 runs with nine wickets in hand and a full day's play remaining.

Earlier in the day, Bawne completed a fine century after resuming at his overnight score of 76.

Bawne's 304-ball patient knock was laced with 12 hits to the fence.

Apart from Bawne, Shrikant Mundhe (58) scored a half-century off 96 balls which was studded with nine boundaries and one six.

Akshay Darekar remained unbeaten on 34 off 46 balls along with Bawane, but Chirag Khurana (43) departed after just adding six runs to his overnight score.

For HP, Vikramjeet Malik (2/71) and Rishi Dhawan (2/131) shared four wickets between them.

Brief Scores:

Himachal Pradesh: 228 & 98 for one in 40 overs (Paras Dogra 41 batting, Varun Sharma 35 batting; Anupam Sanklecha 1/22).

Maharashtra: 488 for six decl in 145 overs (Ankit Bawane 138 batting, Harshad Khadiwale 92, Shrikant Mundhe 58; Vikramjeet Malik 2/71).

Punjab gain upperhand as Delhi are 60/3 chasing 327

Punjab gain upperhand as Delhi are 60/3 chasing 327

New Delhi: Three wickets in the final session provided the Punjab team a clear edge over hosts Delhi in a Ranji Trophy group A encounter which looks poised for an exciting finish here tomorrow.

At stumps, Delhi were 60 for three chasing a tough target of 327 after Punjab scored 402 in their second innings with significant contributions from skipper Mandeep Singh (60), Gitansh Khera (49) and Siddharth Kaul (32 not out).

This was after opener Jiwanjot Singh (147) had laid the foundation scoring an impressive century yesterday.

It will be an interesting final day as Delhi will require to score 267 runs on the final day with only seven wickets in hand. Unmukt Chand (0) made a poor judgement as he didn't offer a stroke to an inswinger from Sandeep Sharma.

Vaibhav Rawal (35) looked good during his hour-long stay before he was played on off Manpreet Gony. Mithun Manhas (0) had a poor match as he was bowled by an incoming delivery from seamer Jaskaran Singh.

Skipper Gautam Gambhir (22, 71 balls, 3x4) is battling it out in the middle with nightwatchman Ashish Nehra for company. Virender Sehwag hasn't yet come out but is expected to bat at the fall of the next wicket tomorrow morning.

It was day when Punjab batsmen totally dominated the proceedings with skipper Mandeep Singh playing an important role. While Jiwanjot played his defensive game chipping away with singles and odd boundaries, Mandeep started attacking the Delhi bowlers.

He took on their best bet Nehra (4/101) pulling him for a six over mid-wicket and then lofted Rajat Bhatia in the next over for boundary over mid-on. Mandeep's 80 came off 113 balls with eight fours and a six. The fourth wicket partnership with Jiwanjot yielded 159 runs and it was the foundation for the big lead for Punjab.

Mandeep was unlucky when a delivery from Navdeep kept really low and he was trapped leg before.

In the post-lunch session, Gurkeerat Singh (24) and Jiwanjot were out in quick succession. Having played only 12 minutes short of seven hours, the right-hander was finally dismissed by Saini who induced an edge taken by 'keeper Rahul Yadav.

Glovesman Gitansh who hit seven fours and Siddharth who had five boundaries to his cedit, added 41 for the ninth wicket as Punjab's lead went past 300 runs.

Brief Scores: Punjab 74 & 402 (Jiwanjot Singh 147, Mandeep Singh 80, Gitansh Khera 49, Ashish Nehra 4/101).

Delhi 150 & 60/3 (Gautam Gambhir 22 batting).

Karnataka-Mumbai encounter heads for an interesting finish

Karnataka-Mumbai encounter heads for an interesting finish

Bangalore: Manish Pandey (119) hit a timely century and raised a 133-run stand with Ravikumar Samarth (75) as Karnataka reached 287 for eight in their second innings against Mumbai in their Group A Ranji match, which is set for an exciting finish here.

After folding Mumbai first innings at 269 in the morning, Karnataka are now 269 runs ahead of Mumbai, who took a vital lead of 18 runs before yesterday's hero Siddesh Lad fell short of his century by seven runs.

When stumps were drawn, tailenders KP Appanna and HS Sharath were batting on four and six, respectively. Pandey and Samarth kept the hopes alive for Karnataka to go for an outright victory after conceding first innings lead to Mumbai.

Karnataka began their second innings badly as they lost make-shift opener Karun Nair and stop-gap number three batsman Shreyas Gopal, cheaply for seven and zero, leaving the hosts tottering at 32 for two.

Mumbai, however, did not capitalise on the upperhand and lost the opportunity to mount pressure and attack Karnataka batsmen, especially Pandey, whose confidence had dipped after scoring just one in the first innings.

"We should have attacked Karnataka batsmen, especially Pandey after the hosts were struggling at 32 for two. We should have had three slips than two, and placed attacking field," Mumbai Coach Sulakshan Kulkarni said.

Pandey looked in a hurry and cracked a quick-fire century off 147 balls with 13 boundaries and two sixes. Samarth also paced his innings superbly by belting 10 boundaries after facing 111 balls.After the departure of Samarth, who was trapped leg before off Kaustumbh Pawar, Karnataka could add 111 runs and lost five wickets, four in the final session of the day.

CM Gautam (11) and Stuart Binny (18), made brief appearances and gave useful support to Pandey. The centurion lost his wicket to leg-spinner Vishal Dabholkar, handing a catch to Wasim Jaffer.

For Mumbai, pacers Javed Khan and Saurabh Netrawalkar, and Dabholkar bagged two wickets each, while Shardul Thakur and Pawar picked a wicket apiece.

Earlier, resuming on 217 for seven, Mumbai were all out for 269 runs as they batted for 13.4 overs in the morning for an addition of 52 runs.

Lad (93) added 34 more runs to his overnight 59 before was the last batsman out.

Pacer Sharath added two more wickets to end with figures of five for 57 while Pandey claimed the eighth wicket of the visitors.

Mumbai is looking for an outright victory if they manage to bundle out the hosts quickly tomorrow.

"If we are set a target of 320 runs, we will go for it. 300 is chasable on this slow and low wicket," Mumbai coach said.

Shivkumar's four-for gives Andhra bonus point

Shivkumar's four-for gives Andhra bonus point

Agartala: Duvvarapu Shivkumar's four-wicket haul helped Andhra bowl out Tripura for 86 in their second innings and set up a 10-wicket win to post their first victory of the season on the third day of their Group C Ranji Trophy match here today.

Andhra also earned a bonus point for their efforts. Medium-pacer Shivkumar took four wickets to run through Tripura, who had a 16-run first-innings lead. Resuming on 20 for three, Tripura could add just 66 runs to their second innings total, leaving Andhra a fourth-innings chase of a mere 103 runs.

Andhra took 21.2 overs to achieve the target with the openers remaining unbeaten. Srikar Bharat hit eight fours and two sixes in an unbeaten 70-ball 64, while Prasanth Kumar provided him good support, staying not out on a 58-ball 39.

Brief scores: Tripura: 179 & 86 (Duvvarapu Shivkumar 4/24). Andhra: 163 & 104 for no loss (Srikar Bharat not out 64, Prasanth Kumar not out 39).

Behera hits 4th successive ton but Gujarat retain upper hand

Behera hits 4th successive ton but Gujarat retain upper hand

Motera: Natraj Behera scored his fourth successive century but Odisha could reach just 345 for eight at the end of the third day's play, even as Gujarat remained favourites to take the first innings lead in their Ranji Trophy Group A match here today.

Odisha are trailing Gujarat by 134 runs with only two wicket remaining. At stumps, Basant Mohanty and Jayanta Behera were unbeaten on one and 0, respectively.

Resuming on 111 for one in pursuit of Gujarat's first innings total of 479, Natraj Behera moved from his overnight unbeaten 64 to complete his century. He had scored 158 against Delhi and twin hundreds against Mumbai.

Behera along with Govind Podder (43) added 66 runs to the overnight score before he got out for a 224-ball 106, studded with 19 fours. Podder then continued in the able company of skipper Biplab Samantray (46) and the duo shared a 69-run stand for the third wicket.

After Samantray's departure, Odisha kept on losing a couple of wickets in quick successions every time. For Gujarat, Rakesh Dhurv was the pick of the bowlers with figures of four for 78, while Jasprit Bumrah chipped in with three for 76.

Brief scores: Gujarat 1st innings: 479 for eight decl. Odisha 1st innings: 345 for eight in 138 overs (Natraj Behera 106, Biplab Samantray 46; Rakesh Dhurv 4/78, Jasprit Bumrah 3/76).

Rajasthan takes firm grip over match against TN

Rajasthan takes firm grip over match against TN

Chennai: Rajasthan top and middle order batted splendidly as the visitors are all set to take first innings lead against Tamil Nadu in their Ranji Trophy Group B match, here today.

Openers Siddarth Saraf (63) and Vineet Saxena (83) provided the base and then Ashok Menaria (62) and Hrishikesh Kanitkar (38 batting) capitalised to bring the visitors to 307 for four wickets at draw of stumps. Rajasthan now need just 11 runs to surpass Tamil Nadu first innings total of 318.

Saraf and Saxena added 163 runs before the former made exit. Eight overs later, Saxena also walked back and Rajasthan also suffered another blow when a dependable Robin Bist was clean bowled by Rahil Shah for 3.

However, Kanitkar, who is unbeaten on 38 and Menaria made sure that the good work done by the top order batsmen does not go waste. But minutes before the close of play, Menaria was adjudged leg before the wicket to Vijay Shankar.

Menaria made a superb 62 off 69 balls with 11 fours and two sixes. At close, Rajesh Bishnoi (20) was giving company to Kanitkar.

Railways aim for an outright win vs Services

Railways aim for an outright win vs Services

New Delhi: Having conceded a 46-run first innings lead against minnows Services, the Railways batsmen gave a better account of themselves with vice-captain Mahesh Rawat leading the charge with an impressive unbeaten 67 as Railways extended their overall lead to 178 runs.

Having dismissed Services for 153, Railways erased the deficit of 46 runs to reach 130 for six before Rawat and Ashish Yadav (32) added 94 runs for the unbroken seventh wicket stand.

Rawat has hit seven fours and a six in his 104-ball innings. Earlier, Railways got a good start with openers Shivakant Shukla and veteran India discard Murali Kartik putting on 75 runs. Kartik, who has done precious little in the matches so far, made his first significant contribution scoring 35 off 65 balls with two fours and a six.

At the start of the day, Anureet Singh (4/44) and Ranjit Mali (2/44) removed the remaining two wickets to keep the lead down to 46 runs.

Brief Scores: Railways 107 & 224/6 (Mahesh Rawat 67 batting, Ashish Yadav 32 batting, Murali Kartik 35). Services 153 (Yashpal Singh 67, Anureet Singh 4/44).

Spinners help Jharkhand take 114-run first innings lead

Spinners help Jharkhand take 114-run first innings lead

Jamshedpur: Samar Quadri (6/650 and skipper Shahbaz Nadeem (3/47) displayed fine exhibition of spin bowling to help Jharkhand bundle out Vidarbha for 218 and take 114 runs first innings lead on the penultimate day of the four-day Group A Ranji Trophy match, here today.

Hosts Jharkhand, which made 332 runs in the first innings, were 83 for three in their second essay at stumps. Ishank Jaggi was batting on 25 while Saurabh Tiwary was on 21 at the Keenan Stadium. Vidharbha's Shrikant Wagh claimed all the three wickets in Jharkhand's second knock. Earlier, resuming their innings at the overnight score of 101 for one, Vidarbha's unbeaten pair Faiz Fazal and Ravi Jangid negotiated the Jharkhand attack comfortably and kept the scoreboard moving till Quadri was brought into the attack by Jharkhand skipper Nadeem.

Quadri, who maintained a disciplined line and length right from the start, drew the first blood for the home team in the form of Ravi Jangid who was caught by Kumar Deobrat for 30

Following the break-through, Quadri in the company of Nadeem bowling did not allow Vidarbha batsmen to settle down even though opener Fazal continued with his fine form and notched up 89 runs off 255 balls with the help of 11 fours.

Fazal misread a delivery off left-arm spinner Nadeem to give a simple return catch to the bowler at the team score was 202. Fazal, who had so far scored over 700 runs this season, also shared vital 52 runs for the fifth wicket with wicketkeeper Urvesh Patel, who chipped in with swashbuckling 46 off 59 balls.

Brief Scores: Jharkhand: 332 & 83 for three in 29 overs (Ishank Jaggi 25 batting, Saurabh Tiwary 21 batting; Shrikant Wagh 3/20). Vidarbha: 218 all out in 93.2 overs (Faiz Fazal 89, Urvesh Patel 46; Samar Quadri 6/65, Shahbaz Nadeem 3/47).