Baroda take charge against Odisha
A round-up of the fifth round of Ranji Trophy's Group B matches on December 9, 2012
ESPNcricinfo staff
09-Dec-2012
Baroda 290 for 6 (Waghmode 71, Rayudu 64, Chauhan 60, Shah 50) lead Odisha 181 (Podder 82, Bhatt 6-73) by 109 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
After the bowlers had shot out Odisha for 181 on the first day, four of the batsmen hit half-centuries to consolidate on Baroda's advantage in Vadodara. Baroda are still missing both the Pathan brothers due to injury, but they didn't let that affect them much as they steadily built up a solid total. Opener Aditya Waghmode made his fifth fifty-plus score in six matches, and added 125 for the second wicket with Abhimanyu Chauhan. After that their stand-in captain Ambati Rayudu and their wicketkeeper Pinal Shah, returning after a month's absence, put on 102 for the fifth wicket to swell Baroda's lead. With Odisha in second place on the points table, and Baroda in third, an outright win for Baroda will be a huge boost with the Ranji knockouts only a few rounds away.
Uttar Pradesh's batsmen built up a big score on the second day against Vidarbha. Arif Alam closed in on his second successive century and Piyush Chawla celebrated his Test call-up with an 85 that included three sixes to push UP past 500 in Nagpur. They might not declare overnight as Alam was still seven short of his hundred, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was picked for India's Twenty20 squad for the first time, keeping him company. It wasn't the quickest of scoring, but UP will hope that the big first-innings total will put pressure on Vidarbha's batsmen, who have already spent two full days on the field. UP are on top of the table despite having played a game less than their three closest chasers, and the three points from a first-innings lead should keep them in first place.
Haryana bounced back from a dreadful start to their season with a surprise victory over Delhi in the last round, but they looked set to be second-best again this time as Maharashtra comfortably took the first-innings lead in Pune. Sangram Atitkar, who reached 80 twice this season without going on to make a hundred, completed his century this time, and his 177-run stand with Ankit Bawne, who made his third half-century in three innings, put Maharashtra in charge. Maharashtra had lost only three wickets and were already 45 ahead.