Parameswaran, Crist wreck Baroda

With the battle for a place in the knockouts on the line, third-placed Baroda needed a solid start on the opening day of the last group stage game against Tamil Nadu. Instead, the team stumbled after being put in at their home ground in Moti Bagh, and lost its last eight wickets for 50 runs to be bowled out in 50.3 overs. Saurabh Wakaskar (51) led the initial build-up for Baroda but his wicket - the third -in the 36th over, bowled by Prasanth Parameswaran, sparked a collapse. Yusuf Pathan was dismissed for a duck in the same over, Deepak Hooda followed five overs later before Aswin Crist, the right-arm seamer scythed through the lower half to end the innings in a hurry. Sagar Mangalorkar struck early to remove Abhinav Mukund, but a 50-run second-wicket stand between M Vijay and Baba Aparajith propped up the visitors. Vijay was run-out for 32 but the scoreline ensured Baroda were under pressure at the end of the first day.

Centuries by Madhya Pradesh openers Aditya Shrivastava and Jalaj Saxena drove the team into a strong position against Bengal on the first day in Indore. MP, seeking six points from the game to have any hope of making it through to the next round, ensured Bengal's luck on the day ended with the toss. Asked to bat, Shrivastava and Saxena thwarted Ashok Dinda and Co for 72.5 overs as they added 222 runs for the first wicket. Saxena was the only wicket to fall on the day but not before he had cruised to his 11th first-class century. His 109 featured 19 fours and lasted 191 balls. Shrivastava, on the other hand, was unbeaten on 118, his second century in only his third first-class match. His innings followed a slow pace as he took 292 balls, but it contained 15 hits to the boundary. Shrivastava, 21, scored 91, 108* and 0 in his three previous innings this season.

Railways' wicketkeeper Mahesh Rawat struck 146 off 189 balls, his first ton of the season, even as Uttar Pradesh seamer Praveen Kumar picked up 5 for 68. Railways ended their first day at 331 for 9 at the Karnail Singh stadium in Delhi. After choosing to bat first, Railways had a shaky start as they were reduced to 51 for 4, Rawat then strung a 129-run partnership with Arindam Ghosh for the fifth wicket and then pacted a 123-run stand with captain Karn Sharma before falling to Praveen in the 80th over. Spinners Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav got a wicket each but proved to be on the more expensive side going for more than four runs to the over.

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