Kiran Powar and Yusuf Pathan stitched a timely unbroken 159-run stand for the seventh wicket to guide Baroda to a stunning four-wicket win over Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group 'B' tie in Baroda on Friday.
Set a daunting target of 272 and starting the third and penultimate day at a dismal 13 for two, Baroda stared defeat in the face at 113 for 6 soon after lunch.
This brought together the Mumbai-born Powar (90 not out, 17X4) and Pathan (81 not out, 11x4, 2x6) who turned the match on its head with their partnership to keep Baroda in the hunt for a semi-final berth.
Powar batted for 287 minutes and faced 186 balls after coming to the crease at the fall of the fourth wicket, that of his skipper Jacob Martin (8).
He went on to stand like a rock and guide his lower order partner Pathan, brother of India pace bowler Irfan Pathan, through a torrid time to frustrate Tamil Nadu.
Baroda, with four points to their kitty from the unexpected win, have taken their points tally to eight with a match in hand, against Uttar Pradesh, to try and qualify for the last four stage behind group leaders Punjab.
Tamil Nadu, who must have entertained high hopes of winning the tie last evening, had to remain content with 11 points with their final league match against Maharashtra at home coming up on December 31.
Tamil Nadu, who had sent back Rishikesh Parab and Milap Mewada, the Baroda wicket keeper, cheaply last evening, struck three quick blows before lunch to have the hosts reeling at 94 for five.
The batsmen out in the morning session were Satyajit Parab (4), skipper Martin and opener Williams for a defiant 53 with four fours and two sixes. Williams added a crucial 49 runs for the fifth wicket with Powar before falling to left arm spinner Ramkumar just before the break.
Baroda lost the wicket of Rajesh Pawar (13) soon after resumption of play. However, Powar, 16 at lunch, and Pathan joined hands when defeat loomed large in front of the hosts and denied the visitors any more success.
The home team adjourned for tea at 208 for six, with Powar on 58 and Pathan on 53, and another wicket at this juncture could have turned the match Tamil Nadu's way.
But the seventh wicket duo continued their relentless pursuit of the goal with determination and doggedness after the tea break and guided Baroda home to a well-deserved win.
Tamil Nadu were let down by their first innings bowling hero R Jesuraj. The rookie new ball bowler failed to add any more wicket to the six he took in the first innings in 21.5 overs.
Medium pacer Shriniwas picked up 2 for 53 while Ramkumar grabbed 3 for 72.
Baroda are expected to be strengthened by India pace spearheads Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan Jr against UP, according to selection committee chairman Kiran More.
Scorecard
Tamil Nadu 1st Innings: 152.
Baroda 1st Innings: 64.
Tamil Nadu 2nd Innings: 183.
Baroda 2nd Innings: Overnight 13 for 2
C Williams c Anirudha b Ramkumar 53
R Parab b Shrinivas 1
M Mewada b Ramkumar 2
S Parab c Kartik b Shrinivas 4
J Martin b Ganapathy 8
K Powar not out 90
R Pawar c Kartik b Ramkumar 13
Yusuf Pathan not out 81
Extras: (b 5, lb 5, nb 8, w 2) 20
Total: (For 6 wkts in 84.5 overs) 272
Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-13, 3-21, 4-42, 5-91, 6-113
Bowling: Jesuraj 21.5-4-67-0, Srinivas 20-7-53-2, Ramkumar 25-4-72-3, Ganapathy 8-1-29-1, Vidyuth 6-1-21-0, Badrinath 4-1-20-0.