Haryana and Goa set for tense first-innings finish

Haryana 205 for 7 (Sumeet Sharma 52, Jakati 4-48) trail v Goa 271 (Joginder 4-66)
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The Haryana-Goa match in Margao was set for an exciting fight for a first-innings lead after a four-wicket haul from left-arm spinner Shadab Jakati left the visitors at 205 for 7 at the end of the second day, 66 short of Goa's total. Jakati, who also scored a valuable 25 with the bat, dismissed all four Haryana batsmen who had got starts, including half-centurion Sumeet Sharma and Sachin Rana (44) within 26 runs of each other.

When Goa resumed the day at 258 for 8, Joginder Sharma finished their innings swiftly to end up with figures of 4 for 66.

Gujarat 228 and 85 for 1 (Parthiv 48*) lead Assam 189 (Ramesh 43, Timil Patel 4-38) by 124 runs
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Gujarat bowled Assam out for 189 - a first-innings lead of 39 - and made a confident start to place themselves in firm control at the end of the second day's play in Ahmedabad. At an overnight 56 for 4, Assam relied on the three former Tamil Nadu batsmen - S Ramesh, S Sharath and S Suresh. They all got starts but could not convert them into big innings, Ramesh top-scoring with 43. Gujarat's legspinner Timil Patel took four wickets to hasten the end of Assam's innings.

Gujarat lost their first wicket for 1, but Parthiv Patel and Nilesh Modi ensured there was no further loss till stumps. Parthiv finished unbeaten on 48.

Railways 307 for 7 (Sharma 68, Beigh 4-83) lead Jammu & Kashmir 194 by 113 runs
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Decent contributions through the batting order put Railways in a position of strength against Jammu & Kashmir at the Karnail Singh Stadium. J&K struggled to follow breakthroughs with quick wickets as Railways slowly but surely moved past their total. Karan Sharma, making his debut at No. 8, top-scored with an unbeaten 64, while Amit Pagnis, Sanjay Bangar and Sanjib Sanyal narrowly missed half-centuries.

Samiullah Beigh, J&K's right-arm opening bowler, toiled 31.2 overs for his 4 for 83.

Kerala 169 and 92 for 0 (Cheruvathur 45*) lead Vidarbha 114 (Anish 5-20) by 147 runs
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Sadanandan Anish, the Kerala offbreak bowler, destroyed Vidarbha with figures of 5 for 20 and his side's openers followed up with a solid second-innings platform to put themselves in the box seat at Nagpur.

In reply to Kerala's 169, the Vidarbha batsmen never got going and struggled against Anish and Tinu Yohannan. Vidarbha's top-scorer was Faiz Fazal with 24, as seven of their batsmen failed to reach double figures. Unlike the first innings, Sambasiva Sarma and captain Sony Cheruvathur made a confident start for Kerala and kept Vidarbha wicketless for 45 overs. Both the batsmen went unbeaten at stumps.

Services 102 and 116 for 2 (Tahir 60) lead Tripura 198 (Prasad 3-35) by 20 runs
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At Agartala, Services nipped out Tripura's last eight wickets for 105 runs and got off to a good start in the second innings, after they were bowled out for 102 the day before. Tripura secured a crucial 96-run first-innings lead, but a good start put Services back in the game.

Offspinner Ashish Mohanty and opening bowler Hari Prasad took three wickets each to contain Tripura, who would rue that none of their four batsmen who reached the 30s could not carry on for a big innings. Services opener Tahir Khan, on a pair, made a better start and was unbeaten on 60 at stumps.

Jharkhand 83 for 5 (Rajan 2-28) trail Madhya Pradesh 223 (Saxena 125, Kuldeep Sharma 4-38) by 140 runs
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After an unbeaten hundred by Jatin Saxena took Madha Pradesh to 223, their bowlers struck early to reduce Jharkhand to 83 for 5 at the end of the second day in Jamshedpur. Saxena came in at No. 3 and scored 125. It was his 102-run sixth-wicket partnership with Rahul Bakshi that rescued MP from 100 for 5. After Bakshi got out for 56, the last four wickets fell for 21 runs, leaving Saxena stranded. Kuldeep Sharma and SS Rao, Jharkhand's opening bowlers, took four wickets each.

Jharkhand made a poor start, losing their first wicket in the second over and regularly thereafter, but their captain and opener Manish Vardhan waged a lonely battle with an unbeaten 34.