Ranji Trophy: Day III round-up

A round-up of the third day's play of the Ranji Trophy Super League matches on Wednesday.

Rohit Sharma's ton puts Mumbai in command

A sparkling century by Rohit Sharma helped hosts Mumbai set a daunting target of 409 runs against Rajasthan.

Mumbai, who started the day at a precarious 30-2, lost the wicket of Amol Mazumdar(10) in the second over of the day and were struggling at 35-3 at one stage.

It was then that Sharma, who walked in to bat after Mazumdar's dismissal, joined forces with opener Sahil Kukreja (83) to add 171 runs in just 155 minutes.

Meanwhile, the pressure of chasing a huge total proved too much for Rajasthan's top order as the visitor's were struggling at 63 for four when play ended on Wednesday.

Brief scores: Mumbai 307 and 305 for seven decl. (Rohit Sharma 128, Sahil Kukreja 83; Pankaj Singh 4 for 83) vs      Rajasthan 204 and 63 for four.

Bhatia misses ton, Delhi take 43-run lead against Punjab

Rajat Bhatia missed a ton by one run but his resilient innings helped defending champions Delhi to secure a 43-run first innings lead against Punjab.

The hosts were 434 for eight in 113 overs at the end of the day, in reply to the visitors' 391 at the Roshanara Club Ground.

Bhatia, during his 273-minute stay on the middle, spent 168 balls and struck Punjab bowlers out of the ground for four runs on fourteen occasions en route his 99, had to head back with a broken heart when left-arm spinner Sarabjit Ladda's  delivery found his leg in front of the stumps.

Earlier, starting with overnight score of 142 for none, both the openers Aakash Chopra and Shikhar Dhawan gave Delhi a solid start through a 155-run partnership, which came in 177 minutes.

Right-arm pacer Manpreet Gony produced first success for Punjab, dismissing Chopra on 76, which he adorned with 12 boundaries. Dhawan scored 72 off 103 balls, before Punjab skipper Pankaj Dharmani pouched him in slips off Gagandeep Singh.

Brief scores: Punjab 391 vs Delhi 434 (Aakash Chopra 76, Shikar Dhawan 72, M Manhas 58, Rajat Bhatia 99, Punit Bisht 76)

Yere Goud hits unbeaten ton

Yere Goud hit an unbeaten 109 as Railways recovered from a poor start of their Group B match against Karnataka in Bangalore.

At close, the visitors were 340 for 7, losing only three wickets after resuming on Wednesday at a shaky 110 for 4 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

The Karnataka bowlers tried all the tricks but Railways batsmen dominated proceedings with the side just 25 runs adrift of the host's first innings knock of 365.

The 75-run partnership for the fifth wicket between skipper Sanjay Bangar (84) and Goud, and the latter's 109-run stand with Raja Ali (52) for the seventh wicket were the highlights of the day.

But the day belonged to Goud, who hit ten fours and three sixes in a 301-ball unfinished essay.

Bangar's knock included 10 boundaries and two sixes, while Ali's half-century was studded with six fours and a six.

Brief scores: Karnataka 365 all out in 138 overs (Robin Uthappa 131, Pandey 64, K B Pawan 54; Kartik 5/83, Harvinder Singh 3/76) vs Railways 340 for seven in 136 overs (Goud batting 109, Bangar 84, Ali 52; C Raghu 2/67, Sunil Raju 2/106, Vinay Kumar 1/30, Sunil Joshi 1/72).

Hyderabad take 1st innings lead against Orissa

Cuttack: Orissa squandered a great chance to take the first innings lead as a middle-order collapse saw Hyderabad bundle them out for 269 lead on the penultimate day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group A tie in Cuttack on Wednesday.

At stumps on Day 3, Hyderabad, after taking a 27-run first innings lead, were 56 for 1, extending their lead to 83.

D Ravi Teja (22) and D Rishi Raj (33) were at the crease.

With captain Shib Sundar Das leading from the front, Orissa resumed their first innings on the overnight score of 150 for 3. But S M Shoaib struck in the third over of the morning, taking the wicket of night-watchman Pritamjeet Das (7), who could only add one run to his overnight total.

Brief scores: Hyderabad 56-1 and 296 vs Orissa (S S Das 80; Shoaib 3-50) 268.

Gujarat five wickets away from victory

Last year's Plate Group champions Gujarat need five more wickets to register a huge victory after Saurashtra's batting crumbled for the second time in the Group A match.

Resuming Day 3 at an overnight score of 8 for 4, Saurashtra conceded a huge first-innings lead of 428 runs after they were bundled out for a paltry 153 in their first essay.

Ravindra Jadeja (48) and Sandip Maniar (42) were the only batsmen to show some resistance.

For Gujarat, Siddharth Trivedi, who began the host's slide on Tuesday, ended with figures of 5 for 44. He was ably supported by leg-spinner Timil Patel (3 for 32).

Following on, Saurashtra's top order failed to handle the pressure and ended the day at 74 for 5.

Opener Sagar Jogiyani was the first to go for a quick-fire 21 of 17 balls while Jadeja, who was promoted up the order, fell for 22.

Saurashtra's hopes of putting up a fight ended after Cheteshwar Pujara was dismissed for a first ball duck and experienced Sitanshu Kotak was out for 11.

Opener Kanaiya Vaghela (17) and Maniar (0) were at the crease when play ended.

Off-spinner Mohnish Parmar (three for six) led the bowling attack for Gujarat in the second innings with Trivedi and Makda sharing a wicket each.

Amay Shrikhande's century guides Maha to 401 for seven

A brilliant display of batting by Amey Shrikhande helped hosts Maharashtra, who are chasing Tamil Nadu's mammoth score 648 for three declared in the Group B match, at a respectable 401 for seven in Nashik.

Shrikhande, who fell five short of a double-century, scored 195 runs with the help of 28 boundaries in 345 balls and 468 minutes. 

Kedar Jadhav, with 63 runs, was the other note-worthy contributor for the hosts. His knock contained 10 fours and a six.

Maharashtra, who resumed at an over-night score of 154-1, need a further 98 runs to avoid the follow-on.

Brief scores: Tamil Nadu 648 for three declared vs Maharashtra 401 for seven (Amey Shrikhande 195, Kedar Jadhav 63