Ranji Trophy: Baroda tighten grip over Maharashtra

Skipper Irfan Pathan led from the front with a four-wicket haul as Baroda dismissed Maharashtra for 207 in their second innings on the third day of their Ranji Trophy Super League Group B match in Pune on Thursday.

Chasing a paltry 101 for victory, Baroda were 2 for 1 at the draw of stumps.

Resuming at the overnight score of 300 for 5, in reply to the hosts' first innings total of 288, Baroda were dismissed for 395.

Irfan and Munaf Patel (3-78) then shared seven wickets between them to wrap Maharashtra's innings for 207 runs.

Chasing the modest target, Baroda lost Yusuf Pathan (0) off the second innings' first delivery when Samad Fallah had him caught behind by wicketkeeper Rohit Motwani.

Connor Williams (0) and Hemant Devdhar (1) were at the crease at stumps.

Earlier, Maharashtra's innings collapsed in face of hostile spells from Irfan and Munaf.

Harshad Khadiwale (45), Motwani (62) and Kishore Bhikane (47) were the only batsmen to put up some fight as six others departed without even touching double figures.

Brief scores:
Maharashtra: 288 (H Khandiwale 111; I Pathan 3-48, M Vahora 3-45) & 207 (R Motwani 62; I Pathan 4-48, M Patel 3-78).
Baroda: 300-5 (Connor Williams 129, Shatrunjay Gaekwad 103 batting; Samad Fallah 3-57) & 2-1.

Parthiv, Bhavik tons keep Gujarat in the hunt vs Mumbai

Mumbai: Skipper Parthiv Patel and middle order batsman Bhavik Thaker slammed unbeaten centuries as Gujarat made a strong reply to Mumbai's massive first innings total of 648 for 6 on Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match.

In a match that has seen just nine wicket fall over three days and a massive 1080 runs being scored, Gujarat's top and middle order also made the most of perfect batting conditions at the  Brabourne stadium.

Parthiv was unbeaten after a 246-ball 148, studded with 15 fours and a six while Thaker remained not out after amassing 111 runs off 231 balls, inclusive of 11 fours and three sixes.

The duo added 264 runs for the unseparated fourth wicket.

At stumps, Gujarat trail by 216 runs with seven first innings wickets intact.

For Gujarat, only Jay Desai (27) could not cash in on the docile track, while teammates Rikin Chauhan (54) and Niraj Patel (57) also notched half-centuries.

Desai added 45 runs with Chauhan before he fell to Dhawal Kulkarni but next man in Patel added 98 runs with Chauhan to steady the innings.

Chauhan and Patel fell in quick succession but once Parthiv and Thaker joined hands, there was no respite for the Mumbai bowlers.

Punjab virtually in quarter-finals

New Delhi: Punjab have one foot in the quarter-finals of the Ranji Trophy. Barring a miracle, it seems end of the road for hosts Railways with their Group A Super League match heading towards an imminent draw.

Railways needed an outright victory to make it to the quarter-finals while the visitors require just one point. After three days of intense battle, Punjab are sitting pretty with a 125-run first innings lead and having reduced the hosts to 16 for one in their second essay.

Resuming on 154 for 4, Punjab went on to post 401 before being dismissed.

Captain Uday Kaul led from the front with a 343-ball 123 that had 12 fours in it.

Down the order, Rahul Sharma hit a brisk 79, inclusive of seven fours and five sixes, while Vishwas Bhalla chipped in with a 44-run cameo as the visitors crossed 400.

For Railways, Karan Sharma scalped four for 93 with his leg-breaks but it was not enough in the end.

At stumps, Railways were 16 for one after losing Faiz Fazal (11) to Love Ablish in the third over.

V Cheluvaraj was batting on three in Sanjay Bangar's (1) company.

Brief scores:
Railways: 276 (Faiz Fazal 87, Karan Sharma 59 not out; Rahul Sharma 6-92) & 16-1.
Punjab: 401 (Uday Kaul 123, R Sharma 79; K Sharma 4-93).

Saurashtra put up improved show in second innings

Rajkot: Opener Chirag Pathak, run-machine Cheteshwar Pujara and in-form Pratik Mehta hit half-centuries as Saurashtra put behind their first innings flop show to post 389 for 8 in their second essay on Day 3 of

their Ranji Trophy Super League Group B match against Karnataka.

The hosts had wilted for 216 in their first innings and subsequently conceded a 168-run first innings lead to Karnataka, who are already through to the quarter-finals.

Resuming on 57 for no loss, Saurashtra rode on half centuries from Pathak (88), Pujara (66) and Mehta (66 not out) and cameos from captain Sagar Jogiyani (45) and Vishal Joshi (45) to erase the deficit and end the penultimate day with a 221-run lead and two wickets in hand.

For Karnataka, Sreesanth Aravind (2-93), Udit Patel (2-91) and KP Appanna (2-81) shared six wickets among them.

Saurashtra got off to a strong start with the opening pair of Pathak and Jogiyani adding 132 runs before the home side captain departed.

Down the order, Mehta raised 85 runs with Joshi before the latter ran himself out.

Brief scores:
Saurashtra: 216 (S Jobanputra 52 not out; S Aravind 4-84) & 389-8 (C Pathak 88, C Pujara 66).
Karnataka: 384 (G Satish 120, A Verma 68, R Uthappa 62, M Pandey 55; V Joshi 4-77).

Delhi still in trouble despite Bisht hundred

Kolkata: Delhi wicketkeeper Puneet Bisht stood tall with an unbeaten century to shore up Delhi in their reply to Bengal's huge first innings total in the Ranji Trophy Super League Group B match on Thursday.

Bisht's unbeaten 103 was the cornerstone of Delhi's reply as the visitors posted 348 for seven in reply to Bengal's first innings total of 522 -- still 24 runs short of avoiding a follow-on.

At close, on the penultimate day, Bisht was unbeaten on 103, an innings coming off 163 balls and including 13 boundaries and one six.

Giving him support was pacer Ishant Sharma, unbeaten on 16 from 27 balls, including three fours.

Trailing by 174 runs, with just three wickets in hand, Delhi's chances of taking a first innings lead and make the quarter-finals cut, appear slim.

Resuming at their overnight score of 68-2, the Delhi duo of Mithun Manhas and Aditya Jain put up a brave front as Bengal's medium-pacers struggled to break the third-wicket partnership that yielded 145 runs.

Bengal's bowling options were limited, as captain Laxmi Ratan Shukla, who was hit on his rib cage by a Pradeep Sangwan beamer, could not bowl his medium pacers.

Left-arm spinner Iresh Saxena gave the first breakthrough dismissing Jain with the team's score of 155. Jain scored 56 (118 balls, 4x8).

The experienced Manhas followed suit after becoming off-spinner Sourashish Lahiri's victim. The former skipper scored 88 (138 balls) inclusive of 14 boundaries and a six.

Saxena claimed his second victim in stand-in skipper Rajat Bhatia (13) as Delhi seemed to be in danger with 181 for five.

Undeterred, Bisht put up a dogged show in the company of Gaurav Chabra (38). The duo avoided further dager, stiching 85 runs together for the sixth wicket.

But the partnership was broken when Chabra fell to Bengal paceman Ranadeb Bose after the new ball was taken. Ashok Dinda opened his bowling account dismissing Sangwan to reduce Delhi to 310 for seven.

Bisht, however, remained unaffected with Ishant giving support as Delhi averted further danger.

"I could not bowl today otherwise we would have had a chance to bowl them out. Tomorrow, we will look to take the remainder three wickets for a first innings lead. There is hardly any assistance for the bowlers but we hope to finish off the tail tomorrow," Shukla said.

Delhi (15 points) need three points on basis of a first innings lead to make the last eight, while Bengal (8) currently on fifth spot will improve their standings on the basis of a lead in the last round Ranji encounter.

Brief scores:
Bengal: 522 (S Ganguly 152, W Saha 120, L Shukla 132; P Sangwan 4-113)
Delhi: 348-7 (P Bisht 103, M Manhas 88; R Bose 3-79).

Indulkar slams unbeaten 137 for Himachal

Dharamshala: Vinit Indulkar (137) slammed an unbeaten hundred as Himachal Pradesh scored 360 for 7 in their second innings against Orissa as the Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match headed for a draw after the third and penultimate day.

At draw of stumps, Himachal, dismissed for 125 in the first innings, had a 169-run overall lead.

Resuming at the overnight score of 47 for 2, Indulkar shared a valuable 65-run partnership with Mukesh Sharma (40) to steady the innings after the early blows of Day 2.

But Mukesh's dismissal by Alok Sahoo triggered a mid-innings collapse before Kuldeep Diwan joined Indulkar in the middle to stitch together a 173-run stand.

Kuldeep missed out on a hundred after being run-out for 83, which came off 124 fours and included 11 hits to the fence besides a couple of sixes.

Indulkar has so far struck 17 boundaries and two sixes in his patient knock that came off 317 balls.

For Orissa, Sahoo took three wickets, conceding 71 runs, while Debasis Mohanty returned figures of 2 for 80.

Brief scores:
Himachal Pradesh: 125 (Dhiraj Singh 4-29, B Mohanty 3-36) & 360-7 (V Indulkar 137 not out, K Diwan 83; A Sahoo 3-71).
Orissa: 316 (H Das 144, N Behra 53; Mohinderraj Sharma 5-102).

Mukund slams 257, Badrinath 122

Hyderabad: Abhinav Mukund hit a classy 257 while S Badrinath slammed a brisk 122 as Tamil Nadu beat the Hyderabad attack to pulp to post a commanding 594 for six on the penultimate day of the Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match.

Resuming on 189 for one, in reply to Hyderabad's modest first innings score of 347, Karnataka -- having already qualified for the quarter-finals -- made merry against the hosts.

Mukund's more than nine-hour vigil yielded 257 runs off 422 balls, which included 40 boundaries and a six.

Badrinath took 144 balls for his 122, which had seven fours and four sixes in it.

In-form Arun Karthik (56) and R Sathish (50) also helped themselves to easy half-centuries to pile agony on the Hyderabad bowlers.

For Hyderabad, Alfred Absolem still managed to scalp three wickets, conceding 74 runs in 24 overs.

Mukund and Badrinath starred in a massive 259-run third-wicket stand that dashed whatever hopes Hyderabad had of staying in the match.

Brief scores:
Hyderabad: 347
Tamil Nadu: 594-6 (A Mukund 257, S Badrinath 122).