Day 3 Manan Vohra Double Ton Leads Punjab's Strong

Tamil Nadu vs Madhya Pradesh, Cuttack

On an eventful day, Tamil Nadu consolidated their position against Madhya Pradesh at the DRIEMS Ground in Cuttack and are on course to take the decisive first-innings lead.

It took them just three overs at the start to declare their innings at 555 for 7. Centurion N Jagadeesan remained unbeaten on 123. Tamil Nadu's new ball bowlers Aswin Crist and T Natarajan struck once each very early in MP's innings to subject them to early pressure. Aditya Shrivastava then followed suit after a reckless run out to leave his side reeling at 50 for 3 which then quickly became 82 for 4 after Harpreet Singh Bhatia's dismissal.

Skipper Devendra Bundela and Shubham Sharma then performed the rescue act with a 160-run partnership but both of them succumbed to the offspin of Washington Sundar to hand the advantage back to Tamil Nadu before stumps.

Brief scores: Tamil Nadu 555/7 decl. (Kaushik Gandhi 157, N Jagadeesan 123*; Ashwin Das 3-111) lead Madhya Pradesh 261/7 (Devendra Bundela 93, Shubham Sharma 85; Washington Sundar 2-20 by 294 runs.

Punjab vs Baroda, New Delhi

Punjab hit back strongly on the third day against Baroda with the bat by scoring 331 runs for the loss of only one wicket. Manan Vohra and skipper Yuvraj Singh scored monumental hundreds and are still going strong with Punjab just trailing by 77 runs.

Resuming at 121 for 1. Punjab lost Uday Kaul early for 42 but Vohra then joined forces with his skipper to take the game completely away from the opposition. He went on to register his first double ton in first class cricket and remained unbeaten on 201. Yuvraj scored his second century of the season and hit 23 boundaries in his unbeaten 179. With the pitch being a belter, a few records are on their way to be broken on the final day.

Brief scores: Baroda 529 lead Punjab 452/2 (Manan Vohra 201*, Yuvraj Singh 179*) by 77 runs.

Railways vs Bengal, Dharamsala

Railways and Bengal played out an exciting day of cricket in Dharamsala to leave the contest tantalizingly poised. Despite being on the backfoot for the majority of the game, Shivakant Shukla and Arindam Ghosh put up spirited performances with the bat in the run chase to give their side some hope heading into the final day.

Bengal added just six more runs to their overnight score to give Railways a target of 315. With neither side touching even 250 in the match until that point, Railways were facing an uphill task in front of them. To make matters worse, Amit Kuila struck thrice in quick succession to leave them reeling at 22 for 3. Shukla and Ghosh then added 134 for the fourth wicket to revive their hopes but Bengal fought back by getting rid of them before stumps.

A lot will now depend on skipper Karn Sharma and Mahesh Rawat as they need 119 more runs but one quick wicket though will give Bengal a chance to clean up the tail.

Brief scores: Bengal 205 & 214 (Manoj Tiwary 48; Karan Thakur 4-45) lead Railways 105 & 196/5 (Shivakant Shukla 83, Arindam Ghosh 51; Amit Kuila 3-42) by 118 runs.

Uttar Pradesh vs Gujarat, New Delhi

Gujarat put themselves in a strong position with another clinical performance on the third day against Uttar Pradesh in New Delhi. They have now given themselves a chance to force a win on the final day having already nailed the first innings lead.

Resuming at 147 for 4, Uttar Pradesh surrendered meekly to fold for 241. Having secured a 106-run first innings lead, Gujarat's openers gave their side an ideal start with an 86-run stand for the first wicket. While SB Gohil scored a fifty, PK Panchal, BH Merai and Manpreet Juneja made useful contributions to extend the lead to 293 at stumps.

Gujarat will now look to add a few more quick runs in the first session before declaring.

Brief scores: Gujarat 347 & 187/5 (SB Gohil 50; Kuldeep Yadav 3-69) lead Uttar Pradesh 241 (Samarth Singh 50; HP Patel 4-71) by 293 runs.

GROUP B

Assam vs Karnataka, Mumbai

After centuries from Robin Uthappa and Karun Nair on Day 2, the middle-order batsmen came to the party on Day 3 as Karnataka extended their domination over Assam in the Group B clash at the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai. In reply to Karnataka's mammoth total of 570 for 9 decl., Assam were 48 for 1 in their second innings, still 197 runs behind.

Uthappa and Nair, who had added 219 runs on Day 2, added 46 more to their partnership before the former became the first to depart on Day 3. Karun Nair added 31 runs with Stuart Binny to help the team to 300 before falling five short of 150. Mir Kaunain Abbas helped Karnataka take the lead but he too departed soon after, leaving the team five down.

Binny then took centre stage as he whacked the Assam bowlers to all parts of the park en route to a 158-ball 156. With good support from CM Gautam (73) and Shreyas Gopal (35) Karnataka posted 570 for 9 before declaring their first innings with a 245-run lead.

For Assam, Rishav Das and Rahul Hazarika got off to a good start but the opening stand came to an end when the former was cleaned up by Gopal for 16. Hazarika and Gokul Sharma remained unbeaten to take Assam to 48 for 1 at stumps.

Brief scores: Assam 325 & 48/1 (Rahul Hazarika 25*; Shreyas Gopal 1-5) trail Karnataka 570/9 decl. (Stuart Binny 156, Karun Nair 145, Robin Uthappa 128; Arup Das 4-86) by 197 runs.

Jharkhand vs Vidarbha, Wayanad

Sanjay Ramaswamy registered his maiden first-class ton and was complemented by the other batsmen as Vidarbha ended Day 3 with a 58-run lead in the Ranji Trophy encounter at the Krishnagiri Stadium.

Vidarbha showed tremendous improvement in the second innings after a dismal performance in the first that saw them being bowled out for 105. Ramaswamy put on a 93-run stand for the opening wicket with Faiz Fazal but the Vidarbha skipper fell soon after crossing 50. Ganesh Satish then provided the opener good support as they raised a half-century stand.

Following the dismissal of Satish for 44, Aditya Shanware assisted Ramaswamy in building a 59-run stand. Ramaswamy fell soon after bringing up his first three-figure score in first-class cricket, but Shanware and Ravi Jangid remained unbeaten at stumps, having registered fifties.

Brief scores: Vidarbha 105 & 315/3 (Sanjay Ramaswamy 102, Faiz Fazal 59, Aditya Shanware 54*, Ravi Jangid 50*) lead Jharkhand 362/8 decl. by 58 runs.

Team Rajasthan vs Maharashtra, Hyderabad

Despite fighting performances from the middle-order and lower-order batsmen, Team Rajasthan were on the backfoot in their match against Maharashtra at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal. Rajasthan were 299 for 8 at stumps on Day 3, still 162 runs away from Maharashtra's first innings score.

Starting the day at 76 for 2, Manender Singh and Ashok Menaria put on a useful partnership with the former bringing up his second fifty-plus score of the current edition. They added 86 runs for the third wicket before Mohsin Sayyed ended the stand by dismissing Menaria eight short of a fifty.

Rajasthan were reduced to 183 for 5 when Manender (63) and Mahipal Lomror (32) departed in the space of 12 overs. Siddharth Dobal (59) and Chetan Bist (43 not out) led Rajasthan's recovery but they lost more wickets late in the day and were left with an uphill task.

Brief scores: Maharashtra 461 lead Team Rajasthan 299/8 (Manender Singh 63, Siddharth Dobal 59; Chirag Khurana 2-24, Akshay Darekar 2-31, Mohsin Sayyed 2-62) by 162 runs.

Delhi vs Odisha, Mohali

Fine knocks from Milind Kumar and Manan Sharma, and a disciplined performance with the ball, put Delhi in the driver's seat in their game against Odisha at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium. Odisha were 109/4 at stumps, still needing 149 more runs to make Delhi bat again.

Starting the day at 351 for 7, Milind and Manan continued their good work as they raised a century stand for the eighth wicket. Milind went on to register his first century of the season and added 156 runs with Manan before Dhiraj Singh sent back the latter for 81 to pick up his fourth wicket. Delhi declared the innings soon after Manan's dismissal.

While Odisha managed to bring down the deficit from 258 to 149 at stumps, they lost four wickets in the process. Ishant Sharma picked up two wickets while Manan and Vikas Tokas bagged one apiece. Govinda Poddar, who scored an unbeaten 52, will have his work cut out on the final day.

Brief scores: Odisha 237 & 109/4 (Govinda Poddar 52*; Ishant Sharma 2-17) trail Delhi 495/8 decl. (Gautam Gambhir 147, Milind Kumar 106*, Manan Sharma 81; Dhiraj Singh 4-84) by 149 runs.

GROUP C

Andhra vs Haryana, Mumbai

Shubham Rohilla's unbeaten 75 has kept Haryana in pursuit of the 371-run target against Andhra at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium.

Having resumed the day on 95 for 3, Andhra were bowled out for 220. Barring Hanuma Vihari's half century and Siva Kumar's 42 there were no noteworthy contributions in the second innings. Yuzvendra Chahal and Mohit Sharma bagged three wickets each.

In pursuit of the target, Haryana lost Nitin Saini and Himanshu Rana early. Rohilla combined with rajat Paliwal, and then with nightwatchman Chahal to take his side to 138 for 3, before bad light stopped play on Day 3.

Brief scores: Andhra 253 & 220 (Hanuma Vihari 50, Siva Kumar 42; Mohit Sharma 3-37, Yuzvendra Chahal 3-51) lead Haryana 103 & 138/3 (Shubham Rohilla 75*; Siva Kumar 1-34, Bhargav Bhatt 1-45) by 232 runs.

Himachal vs Hyderabad, Guwahati

Half centuries from Paras Dogra and Robin Bist helped Himchal reach 232 for 6 at Stumps on Day 3. They now lead Hyderabad by 142 runs with four wickets in hand.

Hyderabad, who had resumed the day on 99 for 7, were shot out for 126. Despite having a 90-run lead which was till that point an extremely low-scoring encounter, Himachal took little time to turn the tables.

The Rishi Dhawan-led side put up a far better batting display in the second essay to keep the contest open, with all results possible on the final day.

Brief scores: Himachal 36 & 232/6 (Paras Dogra 57, Robin Bist 50*; Mohammad Siraj 2-39, Ravi Kiran 2-43) lead Hyderabad 126 (Balachander Anirudh 64; Rishi Dhawan 7-50) by 142 runs.

Goa vs Tripura, Bhubaneshwar

A unbeaten 98-run stand between Rajat Dey and Gurinder Singh for the eighth wicket helped Tripura reach 226 for 7 at Stumps on Day 3 at the KIIT Cricket Ground in Bhubaneshwar.

After bowling out Goa for 269 and taking a 14-run lead in the first innings, Tripura were tottering at 118 for 7 in the second innings. Shadab Jakati led the collapse with a fifer. However, a late defiance saw Tripura extend their lead to 240 runs.

With three wickets in hand, the prospect of an exciting final day opens up.

Brief scores: Tripura 283 & 226/7 (Rajat Dey 56*, Gurinder Singh 41*; Shadab Jakati 5-42, RR Singh 2-67) lead Goa 269 (Swapnil Asnokdar 57, Snehal Suhas Kauthankar 44; Gurinder Singh 3-40) by 240 runs.

Jammu & Kashmir vs Services, Jaipur

Three quick wickets in the final session saw Jammu & Kashmir end Day 3 on 367 for 6 in reply to Services' 477 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.

Led by centuries from Ian Dev Singh and Shubham Khajuria, Jammu & Kashmir got off to a good start. However, Bandeep Singh, Mithun Manhas and Puneet Bisht fell in quick succession as the side were reduced from 348 for 3 to 355 for 6, losing three wickets in a space of seven runs.

Nonetheless, Parvez Rasool and Ram Dayal added 24 runs before stumps without any further damage. Going into the final day, they trail Services by 110 runs with four wickets in hand.

Brief scores: Services 477 lead Jammu & Kashmir 367/6 (Ian Dev Singh 120, Shubham Khajuria 111; Raj Bahadur 2-70) by 110 runs.

Chhattisgarh vs Kerala, Jamshedpur

After finishing Day 3 on 15 for no loss, Chhattisgarh need 313 runs on the final day of the Ranji Trophy clash against Kerala at the Keenan Stadium in Jamshedpur.

Chhattisgarh were bowled out after adding only eight runs to their overnight score of 179 for 9. Having secured a 20-run lead in the first innings, Kerala launched an aggressive assault in the second essay.

After a slow start by openers VA Jagadeesh and Bhavin Thakkar, the middle order - Rohan Prem, Sanju Samson and Sachin Baby - took the attack to the bowlers. Rohan and Sachin put on 125 runs in 153 balls to take Kerala to 307 for 2 before declaring their innings.

Brief scores: Kerala 207 & 307/2 decl. (Rohan Prem 123*, Sachin Baby 70*; Sahil Gupta 1-32, Ajay Mandal 1-77) lead Chhattisgarh 187 (Abhimanyu Chauhan 37, Amandeep Khare 35; Karaparambil Monish 4-34, Iqbal Abdulla 3-26) & 15/0 by 312 runs.