Services slightly ahead in see-saw battle

The match between Services and Jammu and Kashmir is poised for an exciting finish after another day of see-sawing fortunes in Delhi. J&K managed to put up a fight in their second innings, adding another 133 runs to their overnight 136 for 6, and sniffed an opening when their bowlers reduced Services to 7 for 3. But Yashpal Singh and Soumya Swain shared a recovery stand to inch closer to the target., They ended the day on 71 for 4, needing another 63 runs.

J&K, after being virtually out of the contest on the second day, began the third positively as their unbeaten batsmen Manik Gupta and Ram Dayal stuck for the first 22.5 overs of the day. Both batsmen got to half-centuries but couldn't carry on. A target of 134 didn't seem likely to test their opponents, but Services' top three departed quickly.

In a tight battle for first-innings lead, Goa edged past Himachal Pradesh, ending the third day on 347 for 8, nine runs ahead of Himachal's 338. Middle-order batsman Reagan Pinto and opener Swapnil Asnodkar played two crucial knocks -- 85 not out and 80 respectively - to help Goa take the lead. But it looked unlikely when they were 193 for 6 after losing five wickets for 33 runs at one stage.

Asnodkar and No. 3 Amogh Desai resumed at 118 for 1, and the team had progressed to 160 for 2 when Asnodkar got out. This led to a slide, but vital stands between Pinto and Shadab Jakati, and later between Pinto and Saurabh Bandekar helped them recover.

Tripura face a tough final day and are in with a chance of saving the game against the dominant Kerala. They face a deficit of 203 runs to make Kerala bat again, after a poor day at the Maharaja Bir Bikram College Stadium. Pacer Unnikrishnan Manukrishnan registered his best figures in his short first-class career when he added two more wickets to his overnight tally of four wickets, and with another newcomer Sandeep Warrier, who took three wickets, helped bowl Tripura out for 127.

After being enforced the follow-on, Tripura were again in trouble at 7 for 2, but a 63-run stand briefly halted the one-way traffic, before another wicket fell. Sreesanth, coming back from surgery to his toe, took his first first-class wicket since November, 2011.

Amol Muzumdar scored his third century this Ranji season to firmly put his team in command after the third day of the game against Jharkhand in Dhanbad. Starting the day at 132 for 4 , Muzumdar built on his stand with AG Pradeep and later found support from Duvvarapu Shivkumar and Rajesh Pawar to help Andhra put up 410 giving them a 153-run lead. Jharkhand were 20 without loss at stumps.

Muzumdar struck 20 fours and two sixes in his 275-ball 180. He is now among Ranji's top ten run-getters this season.