Baroda in command after taking first-innings lead

Hyderabad 261 and 40 for 1 (Teja 27*, Pai 12*) trail Baroda 479 for 6 dec (Williams 153, Solanki 78, Shah 68, Mohan 4-132) by 175 runs
Scorecard

The question at the start of the third day was whether Baroda could score quick runs and give themselves enough time to bowl out Hyderabad. The visitors did most of the things right on a slow track, scoring 285 runs at 4.07 runs per over before declaring at 476 for 9, and claimed a wicket before the end of day's play. If they can remove Ravi Teja - unbeaten on 27 - early on the final day, they could well achieve the outright win.

Nearly every Baroda batsman chipped in with runs. Connor Williams went past 150, Rakesh Solanki cut and drove merrily to make 78 while Pinal Shah irritated Hyderabad with his 68. Baroda scored 123 runs without the loss of any wicket in the first session, 111 runs for the loss of three in the second and 51 runs came in 8.1 overs in the last before they declared.

Williams, overnight on 91, reached his ton with a steer to point and continued to bat positively to make 153. He swept and drove well before falling to a top-edged pull off left-arm spinner Lalith Mohan. However, it was Solanki who began the attack in the morning. He cut Amol Shinde and spanked Ashwin Yadav on the up through cover before wristing one past square leg, forcing Hyderabad to take the new ball in the 16th over of the day. Solanki pulled the first ball just past a diving square leg and flicked one uppishly in the same region.

Yusuf Pathan, who hit a furious 183 in the previous game, tried to up the ante further. He swept his first delivery to the boundary, survived a drop catch of yet another sweep before sending a Pragyan Ojha delivery to deep midwicket boundary. But he fell soon, done in by an arm-ball from Ojha.

Solanki fell to a superb reflex catch by Mohammad Shakeer when he drilled Ashwin to the left of short cover. But Baroda's plan was to attack and whoever came in played their part. Shah played a knock studded with improvised strokes. He nagged Hyderabad with chips over the infield, traditional sweeps and more than a few reverse-sweeps, topping it with a six over long-on. Irfan Pathan played his part in the 71-run partnership with Shah by rotating the strike and wielding the long handle at times before he was out leg-before at the stroke of tea.

Irfan struck with the ball too, getting Daniel Manohar, who made 71 in the first innings, to edge for a second-ball duck. Like in the first innings, he soon shifted to a round-the-wicket attack and finished with figures of 7-3-15-1. At the other end, Teja picked 14 runs from 21 Irfan deliveries and the brief battle between the two was the highlight of the last session. After playing seven balls quietly, Teja started off with a rousing square cut off Irfan before cutting one to the third-man boundary. Irfan came back with a fuller delivery and Teja, caught at the crease, quickly lunged forward to defend. Irfan got the next one to shape away and Teja stabbed it low in front of second slip, who couldn't quite get his palms under it. Few balls later Teja edged one through the gully region before deciding to pull the shutters down.

Hyderabad need to fight hard to stave off defeat, and could take heart from the fact that the pitch was still favouring the batsmen.