Goa, J&K snatch improbable wins

Goa 252 (Desai 102, Dutta 5-55) and 177 (Vaz 32, Acharjee 2-14) beat Tripura 174 (Abbas Ali 60, Gadekar 3-28) and 206 (Pawan 70, Gadekar 5-49) by 49 runs
Scorecard

Medium-pacer Harshad Hanumant Gadekar's maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket helped Goa to a 49-run win over Tripura in Porvorim.

The victory had seemed unlikely for the hosts at the end of day three, when an incisive performance from the Tripura bowlers led to Goa being bundled out for 177, leaving the visitors 256 to chase for their first win of the season.

At 120 for 2, Tripura were on course to overhauling that target, but a middle-order collapse that saw them lose four crucial wickets in the space of 10 overs, proved to be costly in the end.

KB Pawan and Yogesh Takawale added 80 for the third wicket, but Pawan's dismissal in the 49th over - caught behind by Keenan Vaz off Saurabh Bandekar for 70 - began the wobble. Shadab Jakati then dismissed Abbas Ali and Manisankar Murasingh in the 56th over, before Takawale was bowled for 44 in the 59th, leaving Tripura struggling at 146 for 6.

Kaushal Acharjee put up an unbeaten 36, but received little support from the other end, as Gadekar cleaned up the tail and finished with 5 for 49 to seal Goa's first victory of the season. The win helped them move up to seventh on the table, one place ahead of Andhra.

Andhra 317 (Prasanth 86, Bharat 82) and 237 for 7 (Chiranjeevi 85, Sanklecha 3-52) drew with Maharashtra 440 (Jadhav 173, Motwani 95*, Vijaykumar 6-83)
Scorecard

Gonnabattula Chiranjeevi's third first-class half-century helped Andhra salvage a draw against Maharashtra in Cuddapah, but the visitors secured three important points due to a first-innings lead.

Starting the day at 27 for 1 and needing another 96 runs to avoid an innings defeat, Andhra made a slow start as they lost the opener Srikar Bharat and Bodapati Sumanth early in the day. Medium-pacer Anupam Sanklecha was the pick of the Maharashtra bowlers, finishing with 3 for 52, and once he trapped AG Pradeep lbw in the the 55th over, Andhra were precariously placed at 141 for 5.

However, Chiranjeevi and Marripuri Suresh added 56 for the sixth wicket to guide the team to safety. Chiranjeevi fell for 85 having struck 12 fours and two sixes, but Suresh remained unbeaten at 38 to see out the remaining overs.

Jammu & Kashmir 377 (Ian Dev Singh 99, Parameswaran 4-52) and 337 for 2 declared (Rishi 160*, Rasool 100*) beat Kerala 307 (Jagadeesh 106, Prem 86) and 129 (Mudhasir 5-31, Beigh 3-47) by 278 runs
Scorecard

Unbeaten centuries from Adil Rishi and Parvez Rasool, as well as a five-wicket haul from Mohammed Mudhasir helped Jammu & Kashmir thump Kerala by 278 runs and move up to second in the table behind Himachal Pradesh.

Starting the day at 111 for 1, the match seemed to be heading towards a draw, but J&K scored at a brisk pace before declaring at 337 for 2, to set the visitors a daunting total of 408 to win. Rishi and Bandeep Singh added 107 for the second wicket, with Bandeep contributing just 31 before he was dismissed in the 39th over.

However, Rishi and Rasool kept the runs flowing by putting up a third-wicket stand of 171 inside 30 overs. Rishi's 160, his maiden first-class ton, included 18 fours and a six, while Rasool struck 11 fours during his 100. During the course of his innings, Kerala were awarded five runs when Rasool was deemed to be running on the wicket.

With victory out of the question for Kerala, they would've hoped to bat out the remaining overs for a draw, but they lost wickets at regular intervals to slump to 74 for 6 in the 18th over. Captain Sachin Baby top-scored with 38, but did not receive much support from the other end, as seven of their batsmen failed to reach double digits.

Mudhasir finished with 5 for 31 - his personal best in first-class matches - while Ram Dayal and Samiullah Beigh notched five scalps together to bundle Kerala out for 129 in 41.4 overs to seal an improbable win.