Baroda are well poised to score an outright victory over Uttar Pradesh on the third day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group 'B' match at the Motibaug Palace ground at Vadodara on Sunday.
After setting UP a stiff task of scoring 346 for victory on a turning track, Baroda reduced the visitors to 114 for three in the second innings. The wickets included the all-important one of UP captain Mohammad Kaif (29), run out by a direct hit at the stumps from his counterpart Jacob Martin.
Suresh Raina (47 in 65 balls, 7 boundaries) and Shivkant Shukla (4) were the two unbeaten batsmen at stumps.
Earlier, Baroda, who resumed at their overnight second innings score of 75 for 3, were indebted to Yusuf Pathan who once again showed his utility value to the team in top scoring with 62 in 77 balls, laced with 11 boundaries.
Pathan had earlier shown his ability with the bat while making a crucial 81 when Baroda were down in the dumps against Tamil Nadu in their previous league clash.
Opener Connor Williams (50 in 118 balls) and Zaheer Khan, who made a quickfire 35 in 49 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes, also prospered with the bat for the hosts who ended up with a tally of 283. Baroda led UP by 62 runs in the first innings.
For UP, pace spearhead Ashish Winston Zaidi toiled to return figures of 3 for 58 while Rajneesh Mishra, R P Singh and Praveen Gupta shared six wickets equally.
Scoreboard:
Baroda 1st innings: 186
Uttar Pradesh 1st innings: 124
Baroda 2nd innings (overnight 75-3):
C Williams c Raina b Zaidi 50
S Parab c (sub) Hameed b Mishra 0
R Parab b Zaidi 9
J Martin c Raina b Gupta 10
K Powar c Raina b Gupta 51
M Mewada c (sub) Hameed b R P Singh 5
R Pawar b Mishra 21
Y Pathan c Gupta b R P Singh 62
Z Khan c Raina b Yadav 35
R Patel not out 23
I Pathan Sr lbw b Zaidi 3
Extras (b4, lb8, nb1, w1) 14
Total (all out in 88.5 overs) 283
Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-41, 3-54, 4-94, 5-103, 6-155, 7-157, 8-243, 9-266.
Bowling: Zaidi 26.5-5-58-3, R Mishra 13-6-44-2, R P Singh 22-1-70-2, Gupta 17-4-66-2, Shukla 7-2-19-0, Yadav 3-0-14-1.
Uttar Pradesh 2nd innings:
R Prakash c Martin b Z Khan 4
J Yadav c and b Pawar 24
Mohd Kaif run out 29
S Raina not out 47
S Shukla not out 3
Extras (b1, nb5, w1) 7
Total (for 3 wkts, in 36 overs) 114
Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-50, 3-71
Bowling: Z Khan 12-2-48-1, I Pathan Sr 8-1-27-0, Pawar 7-2-21-1, Y Pathan 9-3-17-0.
