Ranji Trophy, Super league, 2007-08 [Ranji SS available]

[Cricketics]

Delhi would really miss Gambhir.. i hope Sehwag score well

[apocalypse]

Group B: Bengal v Orissa at Siliguri - Dec 9-12, 2007 Tea - Orissa trail by 58 runs with 7 wickets remaining in the 1st innings Bengal 107; Orissa 49/3 RR Parida 15* P Jayachandra 12* A Dinda 1-0-3-0 SS Sarkar 2-1-4-0 Scorecard | Desktop scorecard Group B: Hyderabad v Andhra at Hyderabad (Decc) - Dec 9-12, 2007 Andhra won the toss and elected to bat first Andhra 147/6 AG Pradeep 22* B Sumanth 25* Ashwin Yadav 10-1-39-0 A Shinde 2-0-4-0 Scorecard | Desktop scorecard Group A: Maharashtra v Delhi at Nagothane - Dec 9-12, 2007 Drinks - Maharashtra won the toss and elected to bat first Maharashtra 118/4 HH Kanitkar 41* VR Bhilare 19* R Bhatia 10-3-21-3 C Nanda 6-3-7-0 Scorecard | Desktop scorecard Group B: Punjab v Baroda at Amritsar - Dec 9-12, 2007 Baroda won the toss and elected to field first Punjab 135/1 R Inder 48* K Goel 78* Sumit Singh 14-4-36-0 YK Pathan 13-3-33-0 Scorecard | Desktop scorecard Group A: Rajasthan v Mumbai at Jhalawar - Dec 9-12, 2007 Mumbai won the toss and elected to bat first Mumbai 176/3 RG Sharma 55* AM Rahane 85* M Aslam 11-3-25-0 Shamsher Singh (2) 6-1-21-0 Scorecard | Desktop scorecard Group A: Tamil Nadu v Himachal Pradesh at Chennai - Dec 9-12, 2007 Tamil Nadu won the toss and elected to bat first Tamil Nadu 175/5 H Gopinath 1* S Badrinath 80* VS Malik 13-4-28-1 Sarandeep Singh 15-4-48-1 Scorecard | Desktop scorecard Group A: Karnataka v Saurashtra at Mysore - Dec 9-12, 2007 Karnataka won the toss and elected to field first Saurashtra 135/5 FU Bambhaniya 13* JN Shah 0* SB Joshi 14.4-7-12-0 NSC Aiyappa 14-6-31-1 Scorecard | Desktop scorecard

[Chandan]

ROUND V, DAY ONE: December 9, 2007 Bengal 107 (V Mohanty 6-28) and 0 for 0 lead Orissa 99 (Sarkar 5-31) by 8 runs Scorecard S Badrinath cracked 111 on the opening day at Chennai but Tamil Nadu were on shaky ground by the end of the day © Cricinfo Ltd Twenty wickets fell on a dramatic opening day at Siliguri, as Sourav Sarkar, the medium-pacer, helped Bengal sneak out an eight-run lead. On a day when Sourav Ganguly capped a personal milestone in Bangalore, closer home his namesake in the Bengal line-up, medium-pacer Saurav Sarkar also referred to fondly as Dadi by teammates, brought his team back from humiliation. He couldn't have timed his maiden five-wicket better. With the Bengal first innings wrapping up for 107 on Day I, just 25 minutes after lunch, the 23-year-old saw to it that the hosts won the day's honours with a first-innings lead in their Elite Group B match of the Ranji Trophy against Orissa at the Kanchenjunga Stadium on Sunday. And after the day's play that saw 20 wickets fall for just 206 runs on a green top the match remains wide open as Bengal resume their 1.2 over-old second innings, their eight-run lead intact. Although a likely result here will nullify the lead, Bengal go into Day II with a slight psychological edge and in a way reassuring themselves that their gamble against arguably the weakest opponents in the group did not cost them as much as it could have after they were put into bat. Bengal had asked for a green top with moisture in it and hoped to win the toss and bundle out the visitors early. It boomeranged when debutant medium-pacer Basant Mohanty, brought into the attack as the fourth seamer came tops with a six-wicket haul. It was not that there was a devil in the wicket. It was not as if the ball was zipping past their ears. Just a little bounce and movement off the seam was enough to unsettle them. The batsmen were done in more by some poor shot selection and the fact that domestic cricket does not provide enough tracks with pace and bounce for them to get used to playing on one. Beagal's No 3 Soham Ghosh probably got the ball of the day from Debasish Mohanty. The youngster was squared up with a ball that pitched on middle and then deviated enough to beat the bat and take the top of off-stump. Basant took the crucial wicket of Manoj Tiwary as he edged a slightly away-going delivery to the keeper. Bengal went into lunch at 80 for six and the tail did not wag long after resumption and for the third time in four matches, their batting relented in just over one session. But the hosts came back hard. Ranadeb Bose gave them the early breakthrough when he had Bikash Pati edge one to third slip. Shib Sankar Paul struck from the other end, this time skipper Shib Sunder Das edged to third slip. And as Ashok Dinda and Sarkar joined the party, Orissa had half their side back with 59 on board. Some unorthodox hitting by No. 10 Basant had Orissa sniffing at a lead but he ran out of partners when Bengal with yet another brilliant effort on the field had Saurav Sehgal caught at covers. Punjab 214 for 1 (Goel 121*, Inder 84*) v Baroda Scorecard A 201-run stand between Karan Goel and Ravi Inder put Punjab in firm control on the first day of their match against Baroda at the Gandhi Sports Complex Ground in Amritsar. Baroda's decision to field first was followed by an early wicket, when Ravneet Ricky fell in the eighth over, but Goel and Inder ensured it was only a false dawn. Goel notched up his maiden first-class hundred, with the help of 16 fours, while Inder gave him good company but carting 13 hits to the fence. Hyderabad 47 for 5 trail Andhra 159 (Ojha 3-43) by 112 runs Scorecard It was a bowlers day out in Uppal as Andhra gained the upperhand in their derby against Hyderabad. Going into a huddle and chanting, "We will win" after being bundled out for a scanty total, sounds rather odd. But that's what the Andhra players did after scoring a meagre 159 in their first essay against Hyderabad on Sunday. Though seeming to be ill timed, it did help in boosting their sagging spirits. Soon, Hyderabad were looking down the barrel at 8-3 and their best batsmen back in the pavilion.Choosing to bat first, Andhra managed only 159 but their bowlers, led by medium-pacer P Vijay Kumar, reduced Hyderabad to a perilous 52 for 5 by the end of the day. Hemal Watekar and Gnaneshwara Rao boosted the Andhra innings before Bodapati Sumanth eked out some runs with the tail. Kumar and Kalyankrishna, the new-ball bowlers, then responded splendidly to rattle Hyderabad's top order (18 for 4). Arjun Yadav, the captain, warded off further trouble and ground out a 78-ball 15 to keep Hyderabad in the hunt. Debutant opener Danny Derek Prince was the first to depart after being caught plumb by Kalyankrishna. Ravi Teja edged a moving delivery from Vijay Kumar and was sent back by wicketkeeper MSK Prasad even before he could open his account. Anoop Pai and Daniel Manohar too fell victim to Kumar's impressive spell. There was no respite for Hyderabad as Kalyankrishna kept up the pressure from the other end. M.P. Arjun sliced a quicker one from him to point, but a stunning catch by Bodapati Sumanth ended his stay. It was left to skipper Arjun Yadav and Amol Shinde to come to the rescue. The duo batted on till stumps were drawn. Earlier, Andhra won the toss and decided to bat on a grassy wicket, which obviously looked tailor-made for medium-pacers. As expected, the bowlers used the juice in the track to terrorise the visitors. The only exceptions were Hemal Watekar and Gnaneswara Rao. The duo put on 75 for the fourth wicket before Watekar was bowled by S.M. Shoaib for 38 after lunch. With the partnership broken, it wasn't long before Rao (42) too followed suit. Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha beat him and wicketkeeper Habeeb Ahmed completed the job. Surprisingly, it was Ojha who proved to be the wrecker in chief by claiming as many as three wickets. Mumbai 290 for 9 (Rahane 90, Sharma 62, Pankaj 5-67) v Rajasthan Scorecard Mumbai seemed to get into the act of piling up a big score on a flat batting strip. Opener Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma were building a sizeable partnership for the fourth wicket. But their dismissals in the space of four deliveries by off-spinner Shamsher Singh helped Rajasthan take the first day's honours in the fifth round of the Ranji Trophy Super League Group 'A' clash at the Sports Complex ground here on Sunday. Either side of these two vital wickets, a lion-hearted effort from India probable Pankaj Singh, who picked up five for 67, three of them in a spell of 7-2-18-3 with the old ball, went unnoticed by the national selectors. But the 22-year-old Jaipuri only strengthened his case with his third five-wicket haul in five matches. The 37-time champions have been living by the edge this season and have only been hoping to get their acts together rather than actually executing them. They hoped to get at least 500 on this flat track, but… Batting first, Mumbai finished day one on a dismal 290 for nine. They have placed themselves in a position from where they will struggle for the first innings points here. On a surface that had nothing for the medium-pacers, Pankaj took a wicket each in his first two spells. Mumbai fought their way back from 95 for three with Rahane and Rohit sharing 93 in 159 balls for the fourth wicket. But such is the glorious uncertainty of the game that a well-set batsman's dismissal leads to another in quick succession. Rahane bettered his previous season's best of 72 against Maharashtra by making 90 (243m, 183b, 13x4). His opening partner Sahil Kukreja shouldered arms to an in-cutter from Pankaj and lost his off-stump. Number three, left-handed Hiken Shah, getting his first match of the Ranji season in place of the injured Prashant Naik, too did not attempt a stroke and was trapped in front by the harmless medium-pacer Afroz Khan. At 42 for two by 14th over, Amol Muzumdar could not have asked for a better platform to assume responsibility. However, he hurriedly went after Pankaj, who mixed his deliveries admirably, let go one away from the right-hander, who edged to Vineet Saxena at lone slip for 20, just when lunch was 10 minutes away. Rahane remained composed despite the unnecessary fall of wickets. He dealt in boundaries, though the initial ones came through the edges. But the opener went on to middle the ball well and found a suitable ally in Sharma. He took the back seat as Sharma took charge. Sharma batted with a purpose for the first time in this Ranji season, caressing the ball beautifully to the boundary, beginning with a lovely cover drive off Afroz and followed with flicks, pulls and sweeps. He took a particular liking to Shamsher, picking him for four boundaries in an over, reaching his half-century in the process. As Rahane and Sharma (62, 108m, 82b, 10x4) batted as though they could make no mistake, Shamsher's twin strike in the 59 th over brought Rajasthan back into the game. Rahane attempted a late cut and dragged the ball onto his stumps while Rohit attempted a sweep and pulled it round his legs on to the wicket. All-rounder Abhishek Nayar aimed at giving Ramesh Powar (54, 105m, 76b, 5x4, 2x6) good company. He played a rather unusual innings, scoring 20 in nearly one-and-a-half hours and raising 65 for the sixth wicket. He was stumped down the leg side by Rohit Jhalani off medium-pacer Rajesh Bishnoi, leaving Powar with an uphill task. Powar stroked fluently, two sixes over long-on, one each off Shamsher and left-armer Md Aslam, set him up well. But he ran out of partners as Pankaj came back for his brilliant third spell, emphatically taking three sticks. He forced Vinayak Samant into playing on to his stumps with the horizontal bat, induced Iqbal Abdulla into snicking one down the leg side and later trapped Powar, hitting the right-hander on the full. Impressive Pankaj Mumbai's decision to bat first backfired as Pankaj Singh's five-wicket haul restricted them to 290 for 9 at the end of the first day in Jhalawar. Pankaj, the tall fast bowler who has been a consistent domestic performer over the years, snapped up his fourth five-wicket haul to break the backbone of the Mumbai middle order. He struck with the wicket of Sahil Kukreja early and went on to dismiss Amol Muzumdar, the captain, Ramesh Powar, the centurion in the previous game, Vinayak Samant and Iqbal Abdulla. It was mainly thanks to a fighting 90 from Ajinkya Rahane, the opener, and a 62 from Rohit Sharma that Mumbai stayed afloat. Himachal Pradesh 10 for 1 trail Tamil Nadu 234 (Badrinath 111, Thakur 6-34) by 224 runs Scorecard S Badrinath's 111 propped up Tamil Nadu on the opening day in Chennai but it was Ashok Thakur, with 6 for 34, who seized the initiative for Himachal Pradesh. Sports Reporter CAPTAIN’S KNOCK: Tamil Nadu’s S. Badrinath scored a century against HP. Ashok Thakur’s six wickets helped Himachal Pradesh bowl Tamil Nadu out for 234 on the first day of their Ranji Trophy Super League match at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here on Sunday. Captain S. Badrinath scored a solid responsible century for the host, holding up one end, as wickets fell rapidly after tea. Left-arm pacer Thakur bowled with good rhythm, consistently getting the ball to climb. Badrinath and K. Shri Vasudeva Das put on 97 for the third wicket after Abhinav Mukund and M. Vijay were bowled off inside-edges. Correct judgement Badrinath showed correct judgement while despatching the right deliveries for boundaries, predominantly through cover. The left-handed Das’s 77-ball stay ended when he was trapped in front by Thakur. The left-armer’s second spell, after he added R. Srinivasan’s wicket, read 6-4-8-2. Then, off-spinner Sarandeep Singh lured S. Suresh Kumar into edging to first slip where captain Sandeep Sharma made no mistake. Hari Gopinath failed to read the turn and ’keeper Manvinder Bisla dislodged the bails in a flash. Amidst the fall of wickets, Badrinath remained composed and showcased all the attributes that had fetched him his earlier hundreds. His 100 came off 193 balls, and was studded with drives and cuts that punctuated his textbook defensive shots. Thakur bowled an impressive line while consuming the lower-order batsmen. He also claimed the wicket of Badrinath whose attempted pull landed in Bisla’s hands. Saurashtra 229 for 8 (Vinay Kumar 5-70) v Karnataka Scorecard Medium-pacer R Vinay Kumar grabbed his fifth five-wicket haul as Karnataka kept Saurashtra down to 229 for 8 on the opening day of the fifth-round clash in Mysore. R. Vinay Kumar produced a lion-hearted bowling performance to help host Karnataka restrict Saurashtra to 229 for eight on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group A Super League clash at the Gangothri Glades grounds here on Sunday. On a wicket which had good carry, Vinay’s five for 70 also took him to a personal milestone — his 100th Ranji wicket — in his 30th match. What was baffling was Karnataka skipper Yere Goud’s decision to put the visitor in on a pitch that’s expected to break after the second day. Saurashtra, however, did not capitalise on Goud’s largesse as it managed just two decent partnerships. Exploiting the morning dampness, both Vinay and N.C. Aiyappa beat the bat often before the former had Sagar Jogiyani caught behind, the first of wicketkeeper Thilak Naidu’s five catches. Sitanshu Kotak fell leg-before to Vinay before the left-handed opener Kanaiya Vaghela and the consistent Cheteshwar Pujara put on 62 for the third wicket. Pujara, who has amassed more than 600 runs this season, was elegant in his drives and struck eight boundaries in his 48 before edging an intended drive off Vinay to Robin Uthappa. Vinay then induced Vaghela to edge behind where Naidu took a smart catch. Steadying the ship Rakesh Dhruv and skipper Jaydev Shah steadied the innings with a 55-run stand for the seventh wicket. Dhruv looked a lot more positive than his captain and was particularly severe on veteran spinner Sunil Joshi before becoming Vinay’s fifth victim. This is the fifth time Vinay has taken five wickets in an innings. Joshi induced Jaydev into playing a false shot and the former holed out to Appanna in the deep as Saurashtra was in trouble again. However, the bowlers — Kamlesh Makvana (nine batting) and Sandeep Jobanputra (17 batting) — saw the side through to stumps. Vinay twice limped off the field with cramps and Joshi and Appanna had to complete his unfinished overs, something the host can ill-afford from its leading bowler. . Delhi 23 for 1 trail Maharashtra 219 (Kanitkar 67, Bhatia 5-29) by 196 runs Scorecard Turnouts at Ranji Trophy games, more often than not, range from hardly anybody to absolutely nobody. Players normally find themselves fighting it out for domestic supremacy in front of a few school-bunking children and people looking for a peaceful siesta. Well, obviously no one told the residents of Nagothane this. For, they turned out in numbers, and in their Sunday best, to watch Maharashtra face Delhi in the Ranji Trophy at the Reliance Cricket Stadium. There was, in fact, a party at the ground. Makeshift stands had been given a fresh coat of bright yellow paint; large bouquets of flowers adorned every wall of the pavilion, and, rather inexplicably, shehnais blared from the loudspeakers from early morning! All in all, a very non-Ranji atmosphere. Sadly for the crowd, Maharashtra couldn't add to the festivities with their cricket, as they were bundled out for 219 after opting to bat. Delhi, at stumps, were 23/1. Rajat Bhatia grabbed his maiden first-class five-for to dismiss Maharashtra to 219 on the first day in Nagothane. After Maharashtra had recovered from the loss of their first wicket in the second over of the day, Bhatia exploited the inconsistent bounce on the track and got five middle-order batsmen to edge to the waiting slips. Only a stodgy half-century from Hrishikesh Kanitkar and handy contributions from Vishal Bhilare and Kedar Jadhav got Maharashtra past 200. There was a one-hour delay to the start of the game as heavy dew had dampened the outfield and the pitch. Even after the delayed start there was help for the opening bowlers, which Pradeep Sangwan and Parvinder Awana wasted by bowling either too wide or too full. Returning to the national competition after an ankle injury and missing the match against Himachal Pradesh, the left-arm seamer Pradeep Sangwan was off-colour and his new ball partner Pravinder Awana was quite pedestrian. In the circumstances, skipper Virender Sehwag placed his trust on a tricky customer who in his previous 38 first-class matches had taken as many wickets. After Harshad Khadiwale hung his bat out to Awana in the second over, wicketkeeper Vishant More and Hrishikesh Kanitkar led a recovery. It was an unconvincing innings from More, though, as he kept playing and missing. When Sangwan did induce an edge from More, who was then on 8, Aakash Chopra dropped the chance at second slip. Five boundaries and 27 charmed runs later, Bhatia, in his second over, got More to drive away from the body, the edge was parried by Mayank Tehlan and Chopra redeemed himself by taking the rebound at second slip. On a pitch that saw dual-bounce, with some balls keeping dangerously low and some shooting after pitching, Bhatia varied his length to trouble the Maharashtra batsmen. Bhatia didn't give the batsmen any time to settle in, and was at them right from his first delivery. In the fourth and eighth overs after lunch, Bhatia struck crucial blows, removing Venugopal Rao and Yogesh Takawale, who have both scored centuries this season. Rao was lured into the drive and the extra bounce caused an edge, while Takawale got one that kicked off the good-length area and took his glove on the way to the wicketkeeper. At 74 for 4, Kanitkar found able company in Bhilare and they kept the Delhi bowlers at bay. While Kanitkar batted in orthodox fashion, picking up gaps and hitting the occasional boundary, Bhilare either defended dourly or took the aerial route to clear the infield. During the partnership, Kanitkar reached his second half-century in successive matches when he cut offspinner Narender Singh to point. The two added 70 for the fifth wicket before Bhilare got one that kicked off a length, from legspinner Chetanya Nanda. He scored 31. Bhatia came back and struck in the second over of his second spell as Kanitkar edged one to first slip one over before tea. In the third over after the break, Bhatia got Sairaj Bahutule to play outside off stump and Mithun Manhas took the edge at gully, giving Bhatia his five-for. There was resistance from Kedar Jadhav and Salil Agharkar, but Nanda bowled accurately to get them both. Agharkar, the left-hand batsman, played for non-existent turn and edged to Chopra at slip while Jadhav, after a defiant innings of 33 in 81 balls, was cleaned up by a quicker one. Jadhav was the ninth wicket to fall, while Narender wrapped it up when Wahid Sayyed missed a sweep and was bowled. Delhi came out to bat with ten overs to go and lost Dhawan before the end of the day's play. There was a close shout against both Dhawan and Chopra as they played forward with bat hidden behind pad, but the umpires saw enough doubt on both occasions. Dhawan finally fell in the seventh over, to what turned out to be the last ball of the day. He was done in by the extra bounce from Sayyed and edged to first slip. Even as Nanda walked in as nightwatchman, the umpires offered the light and Chopra gleefully accepted the offer. Nagothane might be a new ground, but if Delhi can build on this great first day to take points from this game, it could well be one of their favourite ones.

[chanakya]

what the hell was in the pitch in siliguri/ 20 wickets? Its like the India vs NZ game

[apocalypse]

what the hell was in the pitch in siliguri/ 20 wickets? Its like the India vs NZ game

3 wickets fell today in first 9 overs :D

[Dravid]

LMAOOOOOOOOOO V Sehwag b Fallah 9 23 12 2 0 75.00 YES!! he will STILL belt lee/lee ka baap around in aus and repeat the shyt he did 4 years ago!!!!!!! /sarcasm :P

[Cricketics]

watz with the laughter dravid?? herez a master of strokes not able to score much these dayz and u like it??

[Dravid]

i am laughing at the fact that ppl here still want him to go to aus...

[Tapioca]

I am probably the only person on this board who is following the Kerala - Gujarat game. At the moment, it is Kerala 111/4 v Gujarat 154. The interesting thing that four of the last six Gujju wickets were lbws (including a hattrick that had two lbws and one bowled). Now the first four Kerala batsmen have all been lbws.

[Tapioca]

Sehwag out for 9 today bowled by Fallah (who ?)

[apocalypse]

Sehwag is making unknown known

[Ram]

Apo, you seem quite interested in Ranji trophy nowadays :D

[apocalypse]

thanks to Neo Sports where i watched Ranji when I was in India in Oct-Nov

[Chandan]

The new venue and ground: The Reliance Cricket Stadium near Nagothane December 9, 2007 The Reliance Cricket Stadium near Nagothane is one of the many small-town venues where Maharashtra have been playing their home games © Getty Images The Reliance Cricket Stadium near Nagothane is situated 130 km from the nearest city: Mumbai. The population of the township that houses the ground is about 2000. There are villages surrounding the township, the nearest one being 10 km away. Yet, on a Sunday, anywhere between 800 and 1000 watched the Maharashtra-Delhi Ranji Trophy match, something big cities like Mumbai, with a population of 10 million, scarcely manage. And Virender Sehwag, the main attraction, did not even bat on the day. With a hill overlooking the ground and the winter sun staying mild for the majority of the day, it is fun to play and watch cricket here. A venue far away from the city and amid the hills is bound to evoke the exotic, which one needs to look beyond. Nagothane, staging it's maiden first-class game, is one of the many offbeat, small-town venues in Maharashtra, where Ranji Trophy games are being held. Ratnagiri, Nasik, Aurangabad and Karad are the other venues where they have been playing. After they played Bengal in the first round of the 2005-06 Ranji Trophy, they haven't played a first-class game at Pune. "Maharashtra is a huge state," says Ajay Shirke, the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) president. "And it's not feasible for the talent in the districts and small towns to come to us; we will have to go to them with the game. We realised that for the last two-three seasons we have been working on that." The persistence has started showing feasible benefits. "Our Under-15 team has reached the semi-finals and is unbeaten so far. The pace spearhead of that team, Yuvraj Pawar, comes from Usmanabad. His parents know nothing about the game. We wouldn't have got him had we just concentrated on Pune. A majority of the population doesn't have the means to come to Pune and play with city players. We have recognsied it as our responsibility to take the game to them. You can see the senior team too: we have players from Aurangabad, Satara, Nasik. Some of them are the first players from their districts for the last 40-45 years." Our Under-15 team has reached the semi-finals and is unbeaten so far. The pace spearhead of that team, Yuvraj Pawar, comes from Usmanabad. His parents know nothing about the game There is an unmistakable raw enthusiasm to the young Maharashtra side who have won two matches outright and conceded a first-innings for the first time, against Delhi. Players like medium-pacer Wahid Sayyed from Aurangabad might probably not have made it to the side, but for this policy. Jaideep Narse, former Maharashtra opener, who travels with the team now to assist with the sports mechanics, feels there has been a decisive shift with cricket going to the hinterland. "Earlier Maharashtra cricket was only Pune," Narse, also from Pune says, "but now we play all over, even if that means doing away with the home advantage for the time being." Bhupinder Singh, the national selector, only vindicated Narse's point. Supposed to watch this match, he landed up in Pune only to find out they were playing in Nagothane. While staying beyond the exotic, as Sanjay Bangar's said in his domestic diary, it is also necessary that players get a proper wicket to play, a proper outfield to field in, and a reasonable place to stay. The local journalists say the wickets at Ratnagiri and Nasik have been sporting. The Nagothane track has a good-length spot from where the ball misbehaves, but apart from that the wicket has done itself no disgrace. The batsmen can get runs if they can apply themselves, the bowlers wickets if they keep hitting the length. The outfield is better than some of the international venues in India. And the team have been put up in large resorts where one can lose one's way while taking a walk. Shirke doesn't refute there are "teething" problems, which will be resolved with time. On the day before the match, there was no-one at the ground to operate the super-sopper. On the first day of the match, when heavy dew caused an hour's delay, an experienced groundstaff could have avoided the delay. It might have only required to time the removal of the covers better. The media-persons covering the match have no decent places left to stay, after the teams have populated the two available resorts. But overall, "teething" problems aside, while the BCCI is busy promoting the game in Singapore, Malaysia and such like, it is good to see a state association taking it to villages. And benefiting from that through the talent they generate.

[apocalypse]

But match was delayed many times due to wet ground

[Chandan]

ROUND V, DAY TWO December 10, 2007 Orissa 99 and 82 for 3 need another 51 runs to beat Bengal 107 and 124 (Mohanty 4-38) Scorecard Ramesh Powar's four wickets put Mumbai on top in Jhalawar © Cricinfo Ltd Wickets continued to tumble at Siliguri as Debasis Mohanty and Preetamjit Das, Orissa's new-ball bowlers, shot Bengal out for 124 in the second innings to give their side a great chance of an outright win. Two-time finalist Bengal are staring at a second defeat in four matches in their Ranji Trophy campaign this season. This one's against Elite Group rookies Orissa and follows their second batting disaster in two days at the Kanchenjunga Stadium. Bengal's batting resistance on Monday lasted a little longer than the first day and yielded 17 more runs than in their first innings. The visitors now need just 51 runs more with seven wickets in hand to cap their second successive win after a victory over Hyderabad. This has now been four times in four matches when Bengal 's top order has fallen in a heap in a morning session on wickets that were tilted slightly in favour of the bowlers. And on all four occasions, Bengal 's experienced trio of Arindam Das, Manoj Tiwary and skipper Laxmi Ratan Shukla failed to anchor the hosts. Das was batting on three figures overnight and was dismissed in the first over on the second day in Bengal's first innings against Baroda. Bengal were wrapped up for 86 in their second innings in the first session on the fourth day with Das scoring 6. Tiwary had scores of 37 and 0 and Shukla's read 0 and 1 on a wicket that offered some turn. Here on a green top, Das was dismissed for 0 in the first innings and on Monday, after hanging in there for around two-and-a-half hours and having scored 47 in Bengal's total of 61 for four, the opener recklessly chased one way outside off-stump to offer a regulation catch at slips. There was a lot of expectation on Tiwary, who having scored a ton against Punjab in the last match and a double on a placid Eden Gardens in the opener against Hyderabad, failed to bail out Bengal in the first essay. He lasted just seven minutes on Monday closing the face of the blade early on a Debasish Mohanty's away-swinger and edging it to first slip. Shukla was the last to fall in the first innings trying to hit over the top having run out of partners. On Monday though, he had Kamal Hassan Mondal at the other end looking composed. But then taking 22 balls to get off the mark with a boundary over Mohanty's head, he departed the next ball trying to drive on the up and edging it to the keeper. The other three in Bengal's top order can be excused for inexperience. Soham Ghosh had his stumps in a mess after missing the line of a Preetamjit Das delivery that held its line. Both opener Anustup Majumdar and keeper Wriddhiman Saha looked unhappy with the decisions they got. Both were given out caught-behind amid a series of appeals and premature celebrations by Orissa and Saha's in particular seemed to clip his pad. It was only after some late heroics by medium-pacers Saurav Sarkar and Ashok Dinda that the Bengal total got past three figures. Bengal now live in hope of a miracle on Tuesday morning. "It's still 50-50," said Shukla. "If we get a couple of early wickets their tail would be exposed and the 50 odd remaining runs will seem much bigger," he explained banking on his bowlers to do what Orissa's Mohanty and his young duo of Das and Basant Mohanty did twice in two days to them. "It will be the first time that they bat in the morning session," Shukla added. What could go against Bengal however is that on both occasions Orissa had the new ball. Bengal bowlers will have to do it with one that is 29 overs old. Also, it would be the third morning and the wicket has shown signs of easing out with the ball dying on the keeper from one end. And even though stroke making may not be easy, Orissa will still have all the time in the world to get the remaining runs in singles. Andhra 159 and 72 for 6 (Arjun 6-25) lead Hyderabad 132 by 99 runs Scorecard Bowlers thrived in Uppal too as MP Arjun's stunning six-wicket burst allowed Hyderabad storm back into the contest against Andhra. Once again the bowlers reigned supreme and once again the batmen struggled. But Monday clearly belonged to Munagala Praneet Arjun. The 22-year old medium pacer from Hyderabad claimed as many as six Andhra scalps with three coming off in one. His efforts left Andhra struggling at 72 for 6 on the second day of their Elite Group B match here. After packing of the hosts on 132, Andhra batsmen started their second innings on a high note especially considering that they were sitting pretty with a lead of 27 runs already in their kitty. But what followed would have certainly left their players in awe. Wicket fell at regular intervals, some so quickly that the incoming batsmen found it hard to put on his batting gear and the man responsible for their misery was MP Arjun. The first victim, Hemal Watekar was squeezed for room. He couldn't avoid an incoming delivery and was trapped on the pads for an individual score of four in the sixth over when the team total read 8-1. But that was just the beginning as more devastation was to follow and soon. The eight over witnessed it all for by the time it ended the scoreboard read 8-4. A. Satya Kumar Varma was the first to take a walk. The ball zipped past the bat-pad gate and crashed into the stumps. He was out for a naught. A ball later, A.G. Pradeep followed suit and in similar fashion. He too failed to open his account. The last ball of the over had new man Shankara Rao's name written on it. A slight edge and wicketkeeper Habib Ahmed completed the proceedings giving Arjun an opportunity to stake his claim on a hat-trick in his next over. The hat-trick didn't happen with skipper MSK Prasad thwarting Arjun's hopes, but that didn't stop the latter from going about his business. He claimed LNP. Reddy in the 11th over and then packed off Prasad in the 13th as the scoreboard read 29-6. Arjun finished with figures of 10-3-25-6. Finally, Y. Gnaneswara Rao along with Bodapati Sumanth started the rescue effort and stayed on the crease till stumps were drawn on 72-6. Resuming on 52 for 5, Hyderabad fell short of Andhra's 159, with captain Arjun Yadav playing a lone hand with 49. Having gained a 27-run lead Andhra would have wished to close out the contest but medium-pacer Arjun, in only his sixth first-class match, claimed all the wickets to fall. Earlier, Hyderabad skipper Arjun Yadav along with Amol Shinde batted on to bail out the home team from a near washout. The duo put on 58 for the sixth wicket, before Shinde failed to read Doddapaneni Kalyankrishna's pace and an ill calculated pull landed in the gloves of skipper Prasad. Meanwhile, Hyderabad skipper Arjun Yadav continued to hold fort as wickets kept falling on the other end. His patience, however, deserted him. After carrying on for 294 minutes, he lost concentration and a Kalyankrishna delivery broke his guard and took away the stump with it. His impressive 49 which included two fours and two sixes was the highest total by any batsman in this match till now. In the end the tail-enders played their part. Pragyan Ojha and SM Shoaib put on 15 runs off 92 deliveries to push the total to 132. Karnataka 216 for 9 (KB Pawan 110*, Jobanputra 6-69) trail Saurashtra 245 by 29 runs Scorecard Saurashtra's new-ball bowler Sandeep Jobanputra scythed through Karnataka's batting line-up with a six-wicket haul, giving his side a great chance to gain the first-innings lead in Mysore. Having ground out 245 in the first innings, Saurashtra responded through their bowlers, striking at regular intervals. K.B. Pawan, playing in only his sixth Ranji Trophy match, exemplified that patience and perseverance pay. The right-handed opener, with his maiden unbeaten 110, stood tall amidst the ruins as Karnataka finished the day 29 runs adrift of Saurashtra with the last-wicket pair at the crease in the Ranji Trophy Group A Super League clash at the Gangothri Glades grounds here on Monday. In the morning, Saurashtra added just 16 to its overnight 229 for eight before Aiyappa cleaned up the tail with two successive deliveries in the fourth over of the day. Aiyappa first had Sandeep Jobanputra top edging a pull to short square-leg and got Kamlesh Makhwana snapped up at slip off the next ball. Terrible start In reply, Karnataka got off to a disastrous start as left-arm medium-pacer Jobanputra extracted some bounce and angled his deliveries. Robin Uthappa (5), Sudhindra Shinde (11), Bharath Chipli (5) and C. Raghu (0) all perished in a heap, all falling to Jobanputra with reckless shots. At 44 for four, ’keeper Thilak Naidu joined the 19-year-old Pawan and played a cameo before his attempt to sweep left-arm spinner Rakesh Dhruv resulted in a edge to ’keeper Sagar Jogiyani. Naidu added 44 for the fifth wicket with Pawan. Jobanputra removed the top four, including the dangerous Robin Uthappa, before returning to knock off two tailenders. KB Pawan waged a lone battle, grinding out 110, and was still out in the middle with No.11 KP Appanna. Karnataka still needed 29 to gain the first-innings lead but Saurashtra should be favourites to gain the advantage. Punjab 496 for 8 (Inder 142, Goel 127, Kakkar 56*, Sohal 55) v Baroda Scorecard Oblivious to the bowler-friendly matches around the country, Punjab amassed 496 for 8 by the end of the second day against Baroda in Amritsar. A patient knock of 142 runs by Ravi Inder, followed by some fine batting performance by the hosts put Punjab on top as it was 496 for 8 at the end of Day two in the first innings of their Ranji Trophy encounter against Baroda here on Monday. Carrying on the day from where they left, Punjab batsmen really looked in some fine touch and especially Ravi Inder showed some fine patience to hit his maiden ton in Ranji circuit. Ravi Inder who is playing in his first season scored 142 runs before being caught behind at the bowling of Sunit Singh. Apart from some good strokes, the centurion hit 22 boundaries in his innings. Meanwhile Karan Goel, who had hit his hundred on Sunday only today added just six runs to his overnight score and departed at 127. Although skipper Pankaj Dharmani and in form Uday Kaul failed to impress this time, but Sunny showed some tremendous rare guard action and launching the assault scored a blitzkrieg of 55 off 64 balls before falling at the hands of Yousuf Pathan. Sohal seemed in sublime touch as his innings of 55 runs included 8 boundaries and two sixes. The tale also did decently as pacer Gagandeep contributed with 27 runs before departing whereas seamer Manpreet Goni was unbeaten on 27 and he accompanied by Ankur Kakkar, unbeaten on 56. Meanwhile for Baroda, who have a tough task ahead now, Sankalp Vohra was the most successful bowler with three wickets, whereas Sunit Singh grabbed two wickets. Yusuf Pathan also took away two wickets. Even though Punjab has already got a mammoth total but still they did not show any signs of declaration. Meanwhile play was also stopped on Monday around five over earlier due to bad light. Delhi 278 for 5 (Chopra 73, Manhas 74, Bhatia 66*) lead Maharashtra 219 by 59 runs Scorecard When Delhi batted on the second day on a tricky Nagothane track, the difference between the two sides came down to one factor: experience. While the Maharashtra batsmen played too many shots, the Delhi batsmen applied themselves, saw out the tough periods, strung together partnerships and by stumps had put their side 59 ahead of Maharashtra's total of 219 with five wickets to spare. The main contributors were Mithun Manhas, Aakash Chopra and Rajat Bhatia, each of whom scored a half-century. Often criticised for not rising to the occasion and not gelling together, the Delhi batsmen showed what they are capable of. Manhas, who came in to join Chopra after Chetanya Nanda, the nightwatchman, and Virender Sehwag fell in quick succession, looked the most comfortable batsman. From the outset, he batted with ease off both front and back foot, choosing to wait for the ball to come to him rather than commit to playing strokes. He opened his account with a flick off the pads through midwicket, which was a feature of his innings. He hit seven boundaries in his 74 and strung together two important partnerships - 75 for the fourth wicket with Chopra and 91 for the fifth with Bhatia - before his dismissal against the run of play and when he looked good for his second century of the season. If Manhas made batting look easy, Chopra weathered the tough period, just before stumps yesterday and in the first hour today. He survived a couple of confident lbw appeals, when the fielders contended that the bat was hidden behind the pad. One edge fell short of slip and there was a big caught-behind shout too. On a pitch with variable bounce, he took a blow from one that kicked disconcertingly from a good length. While all that happened, he didn't let the scoring slow down, rotating the strike consistently and hitting eight boundaries. He was comfortable against the spinners, playing the first pull shot of the match when he hit Sairaj Bahutule to the midwicket boundary in the 24th over. He stepped out to hit Agharkar for two fours down the ground and crossed 50 for the fourth time in this Ranji Trophy, one of which he has converted into a double-century and another into a century. The knock, which comes ahead of the selection for the Australia tour and with Bhupinder Singh, a national selector, watching, ended when he was on 73. He was given lbw off a Bahutule delivery that came in and was visibly unhappy with the decision, standing motionless at the wicket for about eight seconds before shaking his head and walked off. After Chopra got out, Bhatia, a five-for in his bag already, joined Manhas and the two carried Delhi through to the first-innings lead with ease. Bhatia batted with the same sense he had shown with the ball and played only when the bowlers made him play. When he went for the big hits, they cleared the boundary and he hit the only sixes of the match so far. He ended the day unbeaten on 66 off 190 deliveries. Sehwag, meanwhile, once again played an innings where he promised a lot and delivered little. In one over from left-armer Fallah, he walked down the wicket to take two boundaries - one flicked to fine leg and one driven straight down. But in the same over he went for another big drive, and beaten by the angle from round the stumps, played it on to the leg stump. The young Maharashtra bowlers bowled with heart, creating chances, and beat the bat on several occasions. However, like the Delhi seamers, Samad Fallah and Wahid Sayyed lacked the discipline, Fallah bowling eight no-balls and the two bowling two wides each. The young side's inexperience showed as they appealed almost every time the ball hit the pad or beat the bat. The fielders stayed chirpy till the end of the day and kept cheering even wide balls, which were left alone. The new ball, taken in the 84th over, did not do any tricks for Maharashtra either, as Mayank Tehlan and Bhatia negotiated the period before stumps easily. If there can be a feeling to rival that of winning, it has to be the one derived from completely outclassing your opponents from start to finish. That is exactly what the Delhi players must have been experiencing at the end of Day Two of their Ranji Trophy Group A match against Maharashtra here on Tuesday. Though the visitors are quite a way from winning, their batsmen put up a commanding show to make the task just that more achievable. Mumbai 295 vs Rajasthan 179/9 Scorecard Amol Mazumdar has been under a lot of flak this season as he has been struggling with the bat. On a flat pitch that generally demoralise the bowlers, the Mumbai skipper failed to get runs on Sunday. On Monday, he won back the hearts of many by pulling out a magic with the ball, breaking the dangerous-looking fifth-wicket partnership of Nikhil Doru and Robin Bisht with only his second delivery. This effort brought Mumbai back into a position from where they can force a victory, what with the first innings points almost being theirs. The defending champions put up an outstanding team-work to bring transform the gloomy dressing room into a happier one. After adding five to their overnight 290 for nine before being all out, Mumbai had hosts Rajasthan on the mat at 175 for nine, still 120 adrift, at stumps at the Sports Complex here. Mumbai bowlers had to be extraordinary as they had only 295 to defend. And they were, with Ramesh Powar leading the way with four for 52 in 26 overs. They were miserly, giving just about 2 an over. Most importantly, Powar was back in form after going wicketless in the first innings against Delhi and Maharashtra. This only proves how crucial Powar is in Mumbai's victory and defeat. The visitors began well, their first three medium-pacers - and all inexperienced - Usman Malvi, Murtuza Hussain and Abhishek Nayar picking up a wicket in each of their first spells. Powar struck deadly blows, first removing the top-scorer Rajesh Bishnoi (52, 140m, 85b, 7x4) and then the lower order cheaply. Number five Doru waged a lone battle, remaining unbeaten on 50 (262m, 200b, 5x4). Rajasthan coach KP Bhaskar had high hopes on his seasoned opener Gagan Khoda to get cracking. But the 33-year-old was trapped leg before for a second-ball duck by Hussain. Manish Sharma attempted a drive off a good-length ball from Malvi and edged behind to Vinayak Samant. Nayar, in his second over, bowled wicket-to-wicket and struck Vineet Saxena's pads with one that kept low. The bottom-placed team in Group 'A' were 44 for three and only number three Bishnoi looked comfortable, playing with freedom. Soon after reaching his fifty, Bishnoi offered no stroke to Powar and was faltered by the sharp turn. The fifth wicket duo of Doru and Robin Bisht (30, 108m, 94b, 2x4) did the repair work well, frustrating Mumbai bowlers in the session between lunch and tea. They shared 53, occupying the crease being their prime objective. They saw off the twin-spin attack that lasted 11 overs in tandem through Powar and left-armer Iqbal Abdulla. Abdulla stuck to his task of bowling a defensive line, though sometimes he wasted his deliveries by bowling outside the right-handers' leg stump, while Powar attacked. Abdulla also went on to take a stunning return catch, diving to his right, to dismiss Pankaj Singh. Muzumdar brought himself for the last over before tea and straightaway, forcing Bisht to edge to Sahil Kukreja at forward short leg with another sharp off-break. Muzumdar, in the midst of the celebrations, indicated to his jubilant mates that this breakthrough would turn the match in his favour. Earlier, Mumbai lasted only 11 minutes and 10 deliveries in the morning before Hussain was caught bat-pad off left-arm spinner Md Aslam. But not before he was ordered by umpire Alok Bhattarcharjee to change his fully-spiked shoes. Hussain was caught running on the danger area in the first over sent down by Sunday's hero Pankaj Singh, who ended up with five for 72. TamilNadu 234 & 19/1 vs Himachal Pradesh 223 Scorecard LATE AND OUT: HP’s Paras Dogra is stumped by K.H. Gopinath off C. Suresh. V. Yomahesh’s three quick wickets helped Tamil Nadu secure a 11-run first innings lead on the second day of the Ranji Trophy Super-League match against Himachal Pradesh, at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here on Monday. The new ball that was taken in the 85th over paid off for the host. Sarandeep edged the fourth ball of the Yomahesh over to R. Srinivasan at first slip, after surviving 106 balls of predominantly spin bowling. Ashok Thakur was sent back in a similar fashion, two balls later. Vikramjit Malik failed to pull off a swipe when Himachal was just 19 short of equalling Tamil Nadu’s score. His dismissal (leg-before) gave Yomahesh his fourth wicket of the innings. Vishal Bhatia’s two consecutive boundaries off P. Amarnath looked ominous for Tamil Nadu; but the latter got Bhatia to nick one to ’keeper K.H. Gopinath to end the HP innings. Manvinder Bisla (61) top-scored for Himachal. Both Bisla and Paras Dogra (49) were adept against the spinners, successfully sweeping them for runs; but the scoring rate was poor.

[guju24]

sala sehwag still not performing...i think he gave up for the indian team since he wanst picked for 24 squad...

[apocalypse]

Orissa becomes the first one to complete victory Bengal 107 & 124 Orissa 99 & 137/4 (48.4 ov) Orissa won by 6 wickets

[guju24]

Orissa becomes the first one to complete victory Bengal 107 & 124 Orissa 99 & 137/4 (48.4 ov) Orissa won by 6 wickets

bengal got owned by orissa...bengal need their dada back there...

[Chandan]

ROUND V, DAY THREE December 11, 2007 Orissa 99 and 137 for 4 (Pati 30, Jayachandra 29*) beat Bengal 107 and 124 by six wickets Scorecard Tamil Nadu's Abhinav Mukund fell four short of getting his third century in three matches © Cricinfo Ltd Orissa won their second successive match in the Super League after wrapping up a six-wicket win against Bengal with more than a day-and-a-half to spare. At the start of day three, Orissa needed 51 runs to seal the game with seven wickets in hand. In the very first over, they lost Rashmi Ranjan Parida, caught behind off Ashok Dinda for 28. After that Rashmi Ranjan Das and Pinninti Jayachandra batted 20.2 overs for the 50 runs required. Das took more than an hour and a half for his 21. With ten points from four matches, Orissa are now second behind group-leaders Baroda with 14. Orissa won their Ranji Trophy Super League group B tie against Bengal by six wickets with more than a day and half to spare and bagged five points at the Kanchenjungha Stadium on Tuesday.

Bengal are now in a difficult position and their promotion to the next round depends heavily on other teams’ performances in the super league stage. “We are now in a difficult position,” Bharat Arun, the Bengal coach, admitted. In the present Ranji standings, Bengal have only eight points from four matches, while Orissa have 10 from the same number of matches. Earlier in the morning, Bengal pacer Ashok Dinda gave the breakthrough taking the wicket of Rashmi Ranjan Parida with an outswinger that forced him to edge one to wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha. But that was the only success achieved by the much-hyped Bengal pace attack. Rashmi Ranjan Das (21) and P. Jaychandra (29) added 54 runs for the fifth wicket to steer Orissa to their second successive win. Also in an away match, they had beaten Hyderabad by nine wickets. “Our game plan was not to lose any wicket in first 30 minutes. If our boys could hold on to their wickets, the runs would come automatically,” Orissa coach Abakash Khatua said. He also praised Debasis Mohanty and Basant Mohanty.

Rajasthan 179 and 48 for 1 (Saxena 21*, Bishnoi 21*) need another 336 to beat Mumbai 295 and 267 for 4 dec (Kukreja 73, Muzumdar 68*) Scorecard Half-centuries from Salil Kukreja and Amol Muzumdar helped Mumbai race to 267 in 66 overs and declare to set Rajasthan a target of 384 in Jhalawar. Having gained a first-innings lead of 116, after they had taken the final Rajasthan wicket in the fourth over this morning, Mumbai piled on the runs at four an over, with openers Kukreja and Ajinkya Rahane adding 119 together. Kukreja, who made 73, is Mumbai's leading run-scorer from five matches this season. Rajasthan were 48 for 1 at stumps. Hyderabad 132 and 137 for 6 (Pai 53, Shinde 1*, Ojha 1*) need another 18 runs to beat Andhra Pradesh 159 and 127 Scorecard Bottom-of-the-group Hyderabad need 18 runs to get their first win of this season, after they were set 155 by Andhra Pradesh. MP Arjun added another wicket to his overnight six and ended with figures of 7 for 56 for the innings as Andhra were bowled out for 127. Playing only his sixth first-class game, Arjun ended with a match haul of nine wickets, vastly improving on his previous best of 4 for 55. Arjun Yadav played yet another significant captain’s innings and in the company of southpaw Anoop Pai pushed Hyderabad to the threshold of an outright victory against Andhra on the third day of the four-day Ranji Trophy Elite Group ‘B’ match at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium (Uppal) here on Monday. Hyderabad was struggling at 35 for four in 19 overs at one stage before Arjun and Anoop were involved in a fifth-wicket partnership of 93 runs in 208 balls to see the host finish the day at 137 for six in 59 overs, needing 18 runs for a victory. This was after Andhra fast bowler D. Kalyankrishna bowled an impressive opening spell in which he dismissed Daniel Manohar and debutant Danny Derek Prince cheaply. At the other end, P. Vijaykumar had S.M. Shoaib caught brilliantly by wicketkeeper M.S.K. Prasad and Gnaneshwar Rao forced the dangerous-looking Ravi Teja to snick into the wicketkeeper’s hands. Disciplined approach Suddenly, Andhra seemed to have fought back into the game but soon found the going tough as Arjun and Anoop displayed the required discipline in their approach. The latter was content in playing a perfect second fiddle even as the captain occasionally essayed some aggressive strokes — like an imperious pull stroke for a six off Kalyankrishna and later when he stepped down to loft off-spinner Mohd. Faiq for a similar result. This was the partnership which effectively shut out Andhra’s hopes of a come-from-behind victory. Hyderabad lost two quick wickets in fading light when Arjun (43, 174m, 114b, 5x4, 2x6) slashed left-arm spinner Shankar Rao straight to point and Anoop Pai (53, 182m, 111b, 5x4) played on to Vijaykumar. Hyderabad were in trouble early in the chase when they lost four wickets for 35 runs. But Arjun Yadav and Anoop Pai added 93 together and when the two were dismissed, Hyderabad needed only 19 more to win. Himachal Pradesh 223 and 5 for 0 need another 303 runs to beat Tamil Nadu 234 and 296 for 6 dec (Mukund 96, SS Kumar 66*, Sarandeep 3-78) Scorecard Abhinav Mukund fell four short of reaching his third century in three matches for Tamil Nadu as they set Himachal Pradesh a target of 308. Resuming on his overnight score of five, Mukund constructed a patient innings, batting for more than six hours overall. He added 54 with captain S Badrinath and 96 with not-out batsman SS Kumar as Tamil Nadu declared at 296 for 6 and made the Himachal openers bat for 1.3 overs before stumps. Himachal are placed seventh in the points-table just below Tamil Nadu. A win here in Chennai could allow them to jump to fifth place, that is if Karnataka lose to Saurashtra in Mysore tomorrow. Bold declaration by TN SEDATE APPROACH: Tamil Nadu’s Abhinav Mukund scored a patient 96 on the third day of the match against Himachal Pradesh. Abhinav Mukund held fort for a determined 96 in Tamil Nadu’s second innings against Himachal Pradesh on the third day of the Ranji Trophy Super-League match at the M.A. Chidambaram on Tuesday. The host declared at 296 for six, after S. Suresh Kumar’s entertaining unbeaten 66 stretched the lead past 300. Himachal was five for no loss at stumps, when play was called off due to bad light. Himachal needs another 303 runs to win the match. Abhinav doggedly batted out session after session, striking just six boundaries in his 258-ball essay. He saw off a potential threat from Sarandeep Singh who bowled a relentless line before lunch. The off-spinner trapped captain S. Badrinath lbw with one that kept low, and sent K. Shri Vasudeva Das back after Paras Dogra pulled off a stunning catch at short-leg. Strong in defence The left-hander then settled down to occupying the crease. He was strong through the on-side; but it was his defence that was commendable. He put on 96 runs for the sixth wicket with Suresh Kumar, with the latter lofting Sarandeep for the innings’ only six. Suresh hit nine boundaries, including three consecutive fours off Vikramjit Malik. Abhinav perished while playing at a wide delivery from Ashok Thakur, but the lead was already approaching 300. Earlier on Monday, M. Vijay completed 1,000 Ranji runs during Tamil Nadu’s second innings. The 23-year-old took just 21 innings (12 matches) to reach the landmark. Saurashtra 254 and 183 for 8 (Bambhaniya 28*, Jobanputra 16*, Aiyappa 3-70) lead Karnataka 226 by 202 runs Scorecard After conceding a first-innings lead of 19, Karnataka tried to get a grip on the proceedings and took eight Saurashtra wickets on day three at the Infosys Park in Mysore. Saurashtra now have a lead of 202 with No. 5 batsman Firoz Bambhaniya still at the crease. Vinay Kumar and NC Aiyappa shared five wickets between them as Saurashtra were unable to forge any decent partnerships. Opener Kaniaya Vaghela's 34 was the day's top score. Saurashtra first closed the door and then gave host Karnataka a toehold. After gaining a slender 19-run lead, the visitor adopted a defensive approach and played into Karnataka’s hands at close on the third day of their Ranji Trophy Group A Super League tie at the Gangothri Glades ground here on Tuesday. Saurashtra was 183 for eight — an overall lead of 202 — with middle-order batsman Firoz Bambhaniya (28) and the hard-hitting Sandeep Jobanputra (16) at the crease. Karnataka added 10 runs to its overnight score of 216 for nine before Pawan edged to first slip after making 120. However, Vinay Kumar and N.C. Aiyappa, bowling with fire, struck some decisive blows. Saurashtra had itself to blame, as its batsmen played some injudicious shots. The team seemed content to occupy the crease with opener Kanaiya Vaghela taking 236 minutes to compile 34. However, Vaghela got little or no support from the other end as fellow opener Sagar Jogiyani (7), Sitanshu Kotak (26), Cheteshwar Pujara (22) and captain Jaydev Shah (12) all fell while playing aggressive strokes. Even Rakesh Dhruv, who held one end up, was also a victim of indiscretion as his attempted slog off the canny Joshi was held by Raghu in the deep. Wicketkeeper Thilak Naidu, who has snared 10 victims so far, erased Avinash Vaidya’s record of nine against Assam in 1993-94 in Bangalore. Rajat Bhatia's hundred powered Delhi to 409 © Cricinfo Ltd Baroda 251 for 1 (Williams 106*, Bilakhia 47*) trail Punjab 496 for 8 dec by 245 runs Scorecard A draw is the most likely result in Amritsar tomorrow with Baroda trailing by 245 runs to Punjab's first-innings total of 496. Punjab declared on their overnight score and the Baroda openers came out eagerly to make use of the batting paradise, which has now had 741 runs scored on it in three days. Baroda captain Connor Williams and Satyajit Parab got their side the first century opening stand of the season, with Williams scoring his second hundred in five matches. William added another 127 with Azharuddin Bilakhia for the second wicket. Maharashtra 219 and 129 for 4 (Kanitkar 50, Takawale 18*, Bhilare 11*) trail Delhi 409 (Bhatia 107, Tehlan 53, Agharkar 5-85) by 61 runs Scorecard Rajat Bhatia's hundred and Mayank Tehlan's half-century got Delhi a first-innings lead of 190. Then they closed in on an outright win after Maharashtra lost four wickets while still trailing. Speedster Parvinder Awana, cut and carved for plenty of runs in his six-over spell, flattened the middle stump of a confident Vishant More, brought an end to a flourishing half-century partnership for the second wicket and gave Delhi a crucial breakthrough. Delhi struck two more blows through Chetanya Nanda and Pradeep Sangwan to stay in the hunt to pick up the full five points against Maharashtra in their Ranji Trophy Group ‘A’ Super League match at the Reliance Cricket Stadium here on Tuesday. After conceding the first innings points to Himachal Pradesh in the previous game, Delhi has dominated play here for three days and even has a chance of winning the bonus point. For that, it has to skittle out Maharashtra below 190. Following his admirable bowling effort, Rajat Bhatia, without being spectacular, made a century and put his team in a strong position. Unlucky Maharashtra, in deficit by a substantial margin in the first innings and unhappy with the negative response from umpires S. Lakshmanan and Sanjeev Rao for at least half-a-dozen leg-before shouts, was at the receiving end when the former awarded a decision in favour of Delhi and left-arm seamer Sangwan. Harshad Khadiwale had nicked the ball on to his pad and was stunned to see the finger go up. Thereafter, Maharashtra advanced positively with More defending stoutly and Hrishikesh Kanitkar competently dealing with Sangwan who was determined to make amends for his poor first innings effort. Given a second spell, Sangwan was first hammered through extra-cover for a sparkling boundary by Venugopala Rao. The Maharashtra skipper appeared to be in excellent touch, but Sangwan trapped him in front with a ball that tilted in. The departure of Kanitkar in the post-tea session must have hurt Maharashtra more. The left-hander was not beaten even once and used his feet well. However, Kanitkar made the mistake of stepping out to leg-spinner Nanda, missed the line and offered Puneet Bisht enough time to stump him. Venugopala and Kanitkar fell after Awana, given a short three-over second spell, had beaten More through sheer pace. The plucky Yogesh Takawale and Vishal Bhirale denied Delhi any more breakthroughs. Takawale’s six over midwicket in the last over of the day mirrored his natural style. Timely effort Earlier, Delhi added 131 to its overnight total of 278 with Bhatia scoring a superb and timely century (107, 314b, 5x4, 2x6) and Mayank Tehlan making 53 in a little over three hours. The sixth-wicket pair raised 123 before Tehlan holed out to Digambar Waghmare at long-on off left-arm spinner Salil Agharkar. It turned out to be a memorable fifth first-class match for Agharkar who took five wickets while sending down 20 overs more than the experienced leg-spinner Sairaj Bahutule.