Binny, Uthappa bring Karnataka back

Riding on a Stuart Binny five-for, Karnataka made a roaring comeback against Baroda in Vadodara, bowling them out for 406 and then making a steady 148 for 2 in response. Baroda started the day with two overnight centurions at the crease, but Aditya Waghmode and Irfan Pathan could add only eight and 16 on the second day.

Both the batsmen fell to Binny's medium pace. This was Binny's third five-wicket haul. The remaining batsmen couldn't add meaningful partnerships, and the last six wickets fell for just 79 runs. Robin Uthappa and KB Pawan were cautious in response but added 112 for the first wicket. Utahppa played against his nature to stay unbeaten on just 67 in close to three hours.

After being bowled out for 55, Haryana had a slightly better day where they made Vidarbha fight for their runs and wickets, but they still needed 47 runs to avoid an innings defeat and had seven wickets in hand. On a testing Lahli pitch, none of the Vidarbha batsmen reached a half-century, but they managed to put together enough partnerships to rack up a 150-run first-innings lead. Their last three wickets added 87.

Wicketkeeper Nitin Saini and Rahul Dewan then provided Haryana with a 80-run opening stand, but Vidarbha struck back just before the first fifty of the match could be posted. Opening batsman and part-time bowler Faiz Fazal provided the breakthrough with Saini's wicket, and Umesh Yadav then took two more before stumps to take his match tally to seven.

Delhi were left searching for directions in Ghaziabad, one of its much-derided eastern outskirts. The match, packed to bursting with big Delhi names, is in danger of being snatched away by the journeymen of Uttar Pradesh. If medium-pacer Imtiaz Ahmed took out half the Delhi batting on day one of the Ranji Trophy, on day two, Mukul Dagar handled their bowling with the precise and heavy tread of a batsman determined to make his mark.

It was a 196-run partnership for the second wicket between Dagar and Mohammad Kaif that ensured that if Delhi want points from this game, they will have to amp up the quality of their cricket so that it matches their reputations. For the better part of two days, the game has belonged to UP and its bling-less cricketers. Click here to read the full report.

No play was possible on the second day in Cuttack. Overnight and morning rains meant play was called off even before noon.