Himachal ride on Rishi Dhawan form

Rishi Dhawan's reputation received yet another boost as the allrounder took ten wickets in the match to help Himachal Pradesh to an innings and 221-run win against Assam. Dhawan second five-wicket haul in the match has now taken his Ranji season tally to 39 from five matches. He has also scored 311 runs at an average of 51.83 with four half-centuries.

Assam started the day with a deficit of 285 runs, but with only four second-innings wickets, there was no escape from an innings loss. Kunal Saikia and Dheeraj Jadhav (52) briefly resisted on the third morning, stretching their seventh-wicket stand to 47, the best stand in the match for Assam. But three strikes in quick succession by Dhawan ended the innings, giving the bowler his fifth five-wicket haul this season. He also scored a quick 58 in Himachal's innings.

With their third win this season - all of which have come in Dharamsala - Himachal have stretched their lead at the top of Group C table with 23 points.

Andhra 317 and 27 for 1 (Bharat 14*) trail Maharashtra 440 (Jadhav 173, Motwani 95*, Vijaykumar 6-83) by 96 runs
Scorecard

Kedar Jadhav's third successive century -173 off 214 deliveries - in this season's Ranji Trophy propelled Maharashtra to 440, and helped them secure a first-innings lead of 123 against Andhra in Cuddapah. Jadhav has 613 runs from six innings and is now the leading run-scorer in the tournament, with a staggering average of 153.25.

Maharashtra, resuming from 196 for 3, were solid with Jadhav sharing a partnership of 160 for the fourth wicket with Ankit Bawne, who struck 54, that took them beyond the 300-run mark. But they fell in in quick succession to Paidikalva Vijaykumar, who finished with 6 for 83 - his seventh five-wicket haul.

Including Jadhav and Bhavne, Maharashtra lost five wickets for 35 runs and slipped to 353 for 8, when a 84-run partnership between the captain Rohit Motwani and No. 10 Bharatkumar Solanki helped them establish a commanding lead. Motwani struck 13 fours during his knock and looked to be heading towards a fourth first-class ton, but he ran out of partners at the other end. He remained unbeaten on 95 as his side were bowled out in 127.5 overs.

Maharashtra made another important breakthrough towards the end of the day, as the Andhra opener Prasanth Kumar was run-out for 5 in the sixth over. Srikar Bharat and Gonnabattula Chiranjeevi saw out the remaining 8.5 overs of the day without losing a wicket, which was crucial as Kerela need another 96 runs to avoid an innings defeat.

Tripura 174 and 72 for 2 (Pawan 36*) need another 184 runs to beat Goa 252 and 177 (Mangaldas 41, Acharjee 2-14, Majumder 2-36)
Scorecard

The Tripura bowlers set up an intriguing final day in Porvorim, after bowling Goa out for 177 in their second innings, meaning that the visitors needed 256 to secure their first win of the season.

Goa were 8 for no loss when the day began, but their progress was stalled by wickets at regular intervals. Rana Dutta, Manisankar Murasingh, Sanjay Majumder and Kaushal Acharjee picked up two wickets each to run through a batting order that had very little to show barring a 41 from No. 11 Buddhadev Mangaldas, who was Goa's top scorer with two fours and four sixes.

Tripura's chase was hampered by the loss of their openers, as Subhrajit Roy was dismissed for 1 in the third over, and Samrat Singha was trapped lbw by Amit Yadav in the 16th, leaving the team at 40 for 2. KB Pawan and Yogesh Takawale added 32 for the third wicket and batted out the remaining overs without suffering further damage. Tripura, presently at the bottom of the table, go into the final day needing 184 runs to win, with eight wickets in hand.

Jammu & Kashmir 377 and 111 for 1 (Rishi 68*) lead Kerala 302 (Jagadeesh 106, Prem 86, Beigh 4-76) by 186 runs
Scorecard

Medium-pacer Samiullah Beigh's 4 for 76 ensured a first-innings lead for Jammu & Kashmir, before their top-order produced another solid showing against Kerela in Jammu.

Beigh was well-supported by Ram Dayal and Mohammed Mudhasir who picked up two wickets apiece, as J&K bowled out the visitors for 302.

The shift in momentum would not have been expected in the morning, when Kerala resumed from a healthy 184 for 2. VA Jagadeesh and Rohan Prem continued their good work from yesterday as they added 136 for the third wicket.

Jagadeesh reached his seventh first-class ton, but was dismissed soon after. That wicket heralded a collapse as Kerela lost eight wickets for 67 runs, with the last five batsmen being dismissed for single figures.

J&K extended their advantage towards the end of the day, as the opener Adil Rishi led the way with an 80-ball 68 that included nine fours. His partner Obaid Haroon was bowled for 24 in the 11th over, but Rishi and Bandeep Singh put up an unbeaten stand of 52 for the second wicket to leave the hosts in a commanding position going into the final day.