Kaif and Aziz score matchwinning centuries

Rajasthan clung on to beat Railways by one wicket and six balls to spare in a thrilling finish at Indore. Having dismissed Railways for 220, Rajasthan scraped together 223 for 9 with Rohit Jhalani smacking an unbeaten 35 off 24 balls at the death. Shreyas Khanolkar top-scored for Railways with 53 and Sanjib Sanyal chipped in with 44. At one stage Railways were 131 for 7 but the tail wagged them to 220. Several Rajasthan batsmen got starts but none made them count. They were sinking at 154 for 6 but Jhalani batted aggressively to seal a tense win.

Mohammad Kaif's century formed the backbone of Uttar Pradesh's crushing 169-run win against Vidarbha at Indore. Kaif struck 118 off 135 balls to spur UP to 286 for 6 before a disciplined effort from their bowlers skittled Vidarbha for 117. After losing Anshul Kapoor cheaply, Kaif joined Praveen Kumar for a 84-run partnership for the second wicket and then added 135 with Raina for the third wicket. Kumar and Raina contributed 62 and 59. Chasing 287 was a daunting task and Vidarbha were hampered by a regular fall of wickets. The lack of a partnership crippled their chase and they were gradually shut out of the contest. Avinash Yadav took 3 for 32 for Uttar Pradesh.

Parvez Aziz's unbeaten hundred secured a comprehensive victory for Assam, who finished first in the East Zone, after their bowlers had dismissed Tripura for 194 at Cuttack. Aziz struck four sixes in his 108 off 130 balls and finished the match with 61 balls to spare. He received solid support from Jagadeesh Arunkumar who was also unbeaten on 76. They added 189 runs for the third wicket after Assam were reduced to 6 for 2 in the fourth over. Assam's bowlers backed up their Arunkumar's decision to bowl first by striking at crucial times. Arnald Konwar was the pick of the bowlers, taking 4 for 37 as Tripura collapsed for 194.

Bengal 204 for 5 (Saha 85, Tiwary 69) beat Jharkhand 202 for 9 (Rajiv Kumar 63) by five wickets
Scorecard

Bengal won a low-scoring contest against Jharkhand by five wickets at Bhubaneswar. Chasing a modest target of 202, Wriddhiman Prasanta Saha and Manoj Tiwary struck contrasting half-centuries to lead Bengal to victory with 15 balls to spare. Saha anchored the innings with 85 off 137 balls and Tiwary hit a run-a-ball 69. Together they added 121 for the third wicket and wrested the game from Jharkhand. After winning the toss, Jharkhand got off to a miserable start, losing their top five wickets for 93. Rajiv Kumar was the only batsman to pass 30 though seven others got into double figures.