Mumbai set J&K 243 target; TN made to follow-on

Vidarbha have beaten Nagaland with a bonus point in Bengaluru

Shivalik, Mitesh tons help Baroda take lead v Odisha

TN made to follow-on in truncated day against Jharkhand

Rinku 82* keeps UP's fight for lead alive v Andhra

Group B

Saurashtra pip Karnataka for first-innings lead

Goa enforce follow-on against Chandigarh, eye outright

Patidar 205* studs MP domination v Punjab, can they win outright?

Samson hits fifty but Kerala concede lead v Maharashtra

Group C

Debutant Vats 110* studs stunning Haryana win over Railways

Assam stumble in second dig as Gujarat eye outright

Tripura hurtle towards innings defeat against Services

Chandela, Chopra keep Uttarakhand fighting against Bengal

Group D

J&K 22/1 in pursuit of 243 v Mumbai

Tilak bags duck; Delhi eye lead over Hyderabad

Hooda, Suthar put Rajasthan in sight of outright over Chhattisgarh

Himachal take big lead over Puducherry

We’re set up for a thriller in Srinagar, with J&K well in the hunt despite having conceded a first-innings lead.

They bowled Mumbai out for 181 in the second innings, setting up a chase of 243. At stumps, J&K are 21 for 1, needing another 222. Shubham Khajuria was the only wicket to fall, trapped lbw by Tushar Deshpande.

With plenty of batting still to come, J&K will once again look to Paras Dogra and Abdul Samad to shoulder the load. The last time these two sides met, J&K pushed Mumbai to the brink — and if they can summon a similar fight, we could be in for another classic.

His debut innings for Maharashtra lasted just four deliveries, but the second has begun far more brightly. After Maharashtra secured a 20-run lead through a collective bowling effort, Shaw and Arshin Kulkarni have launched a brisk reply, racing to 50 without loss in the ninth over. Shaw, looking in fine touch, is unbeaten on 36 with seven boundaries already to his name.

It’s been that kind of match. On a flat track in Hyderabad — where two Delhi batters, including debutant Ayush Doseja, piled up double centuries — Tilak Varma has fallen for a two-ball duck.

After spending nearly the entire Delhi innings on the field, Tilak had the ideal platform to make amends. With Tanmay Agarwal scoring a century and Aniketh Reddy 87, the onus was on Hyderabad to push for a first-innings lead.

What will sting even more for Tilak is that his dismissal came at the hands of Ayush Badoni’s part-time spin.

Hyderabad continue to battle, though — 359 for 5, still 170 behind. Can they turn it around and edge ahead?

Saurashtra’s last-wicket pair, Yuvrajsinh Dodiya and Chetan Sakariya, came together with 31 still needed to take the lead — and added 35 to earn what could prove three vital points. With just over four sessions remaining, the onus is now on Karnataka to decide whether to bat with urgency and risk a defeat in pursuit of an outright win. How Mayank Agarwal and his team approach this will be fascinating to watch.

Haryana have pulled off a remarkable 96-run win over Railways on a turning track in Surat, taking home six points. The hero of the match was debutant Parth Vats, whose unbeaten 110 rescued Haryana from 68 for 7 in the second innings and set up a target of 249 — one that proved far beyond Railways’ reach. They were bundled out for 152 in 49.2 overs, with Nikhil Kashyap and left-arm allrounder Nishant Sindhu sharing nine wickets to seal the victory.

Saurashtra need 23, Karnataka need 1 wicket for lead. Shreyas Gopal with a seven-for after Saurashtra were 140/0 in reply to Karnataka's 379.

TN 88/9 in response to Jharkhand's 319. They began on 18 for 5, and the lower order has been equally inept. Seamer Jatin Singh with a five-for.

Mumbai 95/5 in the second innings, with an overall lead of 156. J&K showing there's plenty of fight still left.

Mumbai could've been 57 for 4, but Siddesh Lad, centurion from the first innings, is bowled off a no-ball by Yudhvir Singh. At the other end, Sarfaraz Khan has dashed off the blocks quickly and is on 28 off 30. Mumbai are effectively 118 for 3 and far from safe just yet. Two wickets to Auqib Nabi so far.

A lapse in concentration brings Samson’s innings to an end on 54. Shaping to cut, he’s undone by Vicky Ostwal’s left-arm angle from around the wicket — there’s little turn, and the ball cramps him for room. He only manages a faint edge that is pouched superbly Saurabh Navale. Kerala now 132 for 5, still trailing Maharashtra by 107.

Sanju Samson has counterattacked in style, bringing up a silken half-century off just 51 balls to lift Kerala to 111 for 4 in reply to Maharashtra’s 239.

Walking in at 35 for 3, he made his intent clear immediately - cracking a crisp cover drive on the up off Rajneesh Gurbani before stepping out to his former teammate Jalaj Saxena, launching him over deep midwicket for six.

Samson hasn’t reined in his natural flair. It’s brought a few anxious moments, particularly against the late left-arm swing of Mukesh Choudhary, but he’s batted with conviction throughout.

He raced through the 40s in trademark fashion: a silken on-drive off Arshin Kulkarni followed by a flashing cut over the slips to move to 49, before a single took him to his 17th first-class half-century.

Dogra's 32nd century, against Mumbai in Srinagar, has kept J&K in the game as they've managed to minimise Mumbai's lead to 61. If their seamers can strike and limit the target, we should be in for a tight contest.

Dogra was the last batter to be dismissed for 144, off 208 deliveries, as J&K finish with 326.

At Eden Gardens, Uttarakhand have a mammoth task ahead. Batting for survival may not be a smart option given we still have nearly two full days to go. They'll need to score quickly and try to set up a total they'd hope to defend. Bengal will have to thank Sudip Chatterjee (98) and Sumanta Ghosh (82) for opening up a lead they'd look to convert into full points.

Kerala will feel a tad disappointed. They had Maharashtra on the mat, at 5 for 4 in the second over on the opening day. Then they saw Ruturaj Gaikwad score a fighting 83 to take Maharashtra to 239.

Then with tricky phase to see out late on Day 2, their top order collapsed to leave them 35 for 3. Sanju Samson and Sachin Baby are up against a ball that is still relatively new and doing quite a bit in the air under overcast skies.

It took Jalaj Saxena all of four deliveries to strike for his new team, against his former team. But it looks like Samson is in the mood to take the attack. His first ball up against spin off Jalaj is tonked into the stands at deep midwicket as he gives him the charge. Is this the tempo Samson's gonna try and maintain? It'll be fascinating to watch.

Warm welcome.

In Elite, at least one outright result is on the cards. In Group C, Haryana have made a sensational comeback. After pocketing a 47-run lead over Railways, it seemed as if they had the advantage, but that was quickly negated by Himanshu Sangwan, the fast bowler who famously dismissed Virat Kohli earlier this year in what was to be his final first-class innings.

Haryana were tottering at 68 for 7 in the second innings, leading by just 115, when Parth Vats, making his first-class debut, announced himself to make a terrific backs-to-the-wall century. He has helped haul Haryana's lead to 248. He finishes on 110 not out, as Haryana have been bowled out for 205.

Group A

Nagaland have a mountain to climb v Vidarbha after Mokhade 183.

Baroda solid after Senapati, Dhuper lift Odisha to 271

TN collapse to 18/5 after Kishan 171 propels Jharkhand to 419

Bharat 142, Rasheed 136 power Andhra to 470 v Uttar Pradesh

Karnataka and Saurashtra scrap hard for first-innings honours

Double tons from Tejrana, Lalit Yadav puts Goa in command v Chandigarh

Patidar hits ton, V Iyer nears one as MP take control against Punjab

On a rain-interrupted day, Maharashtra hit back against Kerala

Group C

Sudip 98 Sumanta 82* gives Bengal the lead against Uttarakhand

Services take control against Tripura after Nakul 96, Pulkit Narag 69.

Aarya & Abhishek lead strong Gujarat response after Assam 310

Parth Vats century lifts Haryana from 62/7 as they lead by 237 v Railways

Dogra's stodgy 110* keeps J&K fighting v Mumbai

Sangwan, Doseja hit double-tons as Delhi flatten Hyderabad

All-round Mayank Dagar helps Himachal dominate v Puducherry

Deepak Hooda ton keeps Rajasthan in hunt for lead v Chhattisgarh

And the runs continue to flow for newly-appointed Madhya Pradesh captain Rajat Patidar, who RCB fans call #RaPa.

He came into the season on the back of runs in the Duleep Trophy, where he led Central Zone to a title win, and the Irani Cup - where he struck a fluent 66.

At Emerald High in Indore, he walked out to bat with MP in a some trouble. In response to Punjab's 232, the hosts were wobbly at 155 for 4. Since then, Patidar and Venkatesh Iyer have put on a century stand to open up a lead which MP will hope is big enough for them to press for a bonus-point win.

Along the way, Patidar has raised his 16th first-class century.He has already stuck three centuries and two half-centuries, in eight innings so far this season. Venky Iyer is unbeaten on 71.

Saurashtra were cruising at 140 without loss, in response to Karnataka's 372 when Harvik Desai was trapped lbw by Mohsin Khan. Since then, they've lost three more wickets to Shreyas Gopal, the leg spinner.

Chirag Jani was bowled for 90, Jay Gohil (who came in as a concussion sub for Tarang Gohel) spooned a return catch, while Ansh Gosai was caught by Smaran for 19. Saurashtra are now 171/4, still trading by 201 as Arpit Vasavada & Prerak Mankad look to rebuild.

What they'd give to have someone like Cheteshwar Pujara out in the middle for them.

After posting 419, achieved largely due to Ishan Kishan's 171, Jharkhand's new ball pair have left TN reeling at 18 for 5 at tea on Day 2 in Coimbatore.

Sahil Raj, who contributed 77 during a 214-run stand with Kishan, has nipped out two wickets while fellow seamer Jatin Pandey has picked up three. The list of those gone: N Jagadeesan, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, B Indrajith, Andre Siddarth and B Sachin.

At the crease are Shahrukh Khan and RS Ambrish, the India Under-19 seam-bowling allrounder. But they've called stumps early because of rain.

Rings a bell? Yes?

No?....how about now?

So, he has picked up four wickets in the second innings as Railways have storming back into the match after conceding a 47-run lead to Haryana in Surat.

We're less than five sessions in, but 27 wickets have already fallen. Haryana have slumped to 93 for 8, with an overall lead of just 140. At this rate, there's every chance we could have the first outright result of the Elite Division tonight or first up tomorrow.

It's a fascinating story of someone who came to Mumbai from Ranchi, with a dream of playing cricket. He didn't know how to realise it - and was guided along the way by a local Mumbai coach Prashanth Shetty, a guiding light for so many young cricketers coming through.

He earned a small income waiting tables, making sushis at a Japanese restaurant, paid off a loan he owed his friend, who in-turn had borrowed money for the two to survive in the city. This is stuff dreams are made of. And on Ranji debut, he has a maiden wicket. Of Qamran Iqbal, that leaves J&K in trouble at 32 for 3 after Mumbai post 386.

You can read about his fascinating journey here.

After skittling Punjab for 232, MP were in a hint of trouble at 98 for 3. But new skipper Rajat Patidar and former captain Shubman Sharma have steered them out of choppy waters. MP are currently 145/3, still trailing by 87 runs. Naman Dhir, the hard-hitting batting allrounder who also bowls seam-up, has picked up two of the three wickets to fall so far.

The Ranji Trophy is ripe with plenty of human stories. Of hard work, sacrifices, heartbreaks, setbacks and comebacks. DT Chandrasekhar's is one such.

Having last played in 2015-16, he had to go back to first-division cricket in Chennai and prove himself all over again, season after season. After picking nearly 450 wickets, including a perfect 10 for Sea Hawks CC against Globe Trotters, and being a prolific performer in the TNPL, he's back in the Ranji setup and playing against Jharkhand.

He's had to toil away in Coimbatore, his figures currently read 31-4-103-2. Both his wickets are of quality batters - Kumar Suraj & Kumar Kushagra. Jharkhand have recovered from 157 for 6 and are currently 387 for 8.

Read his full story here. It's quite fascinating.

Mumbai captain Shardul Thakur has struck in the very first over after they posted 386. Off the third ball of the innings, he has Shubham Khajuria caught in the cordon for a two-ball duck. In the next over, Tushar Deshpande sends back Musaif Ajaz. J&K's hopes pinned on Qamran Iqbal and Paras Dogra. They're currently 31/2, trailing by 355.

Strange session for the visitors in Rajkot. From 324 for 5, they lost four wickets for one run. Then the last-wicket pair of Shikhar Shetty, the debutant spinner, and left-arm seamer Abhilash Shetty added 47 to haul them to 372, before Shikhar was out to a top-edged sweep for 41.

Meanwhile, Ishan Kishan has fallen for 171 to India U-19 seam-bowling allrounder RS Ambrish in Coimbatore. But not before he's rescued Jharkhand from 157 for 6; the seventh-wicket stand between Kishan and Sahil Raj was worth 214. They're currently 371 for 7 with TN looking to nip out the last three wickets cheaply.

In Srinagar, Shams Mulani has missed an opportunity to bring up his second first-class century, but has hauled Mumbai to a commanding position against Jammu & Kashmir.

His 159-run partnership with Siddesh Lad (116) helped get past 300. His subsequent partnership with Akash Anand has helped Mumbai finish on 386. Mulani hit nine fours and a six in his 91 before falling lbw to seamer Yudhvir Singh, who finishes with figures of 5 for 96.

We're less than four sessions in, but 20 wickets have already tumbled at the Lalbhai Contractor Stadium in Surat, where Haryana have bundled out Railways for 128, thereby taking a 43-run lead. Seamer Sumit Kumar with a five-for.

Elsewhere in Trivandrum, rain has delayed the start of play with Maharashtra looking to build from their overnight 179 for 7 against Kerala.

More frustration for Tamil Nadu with the second new ball on the second morning.

Resuming on 123 overnight, Ishan Kishan has seen off the tricky early-morning period to bring up his 150. He curbed some of his attacking flair yesterday, but has already hit three sixes this morning.

Kishan's eight-wicket stand with Sahil Raj is nearing 200. Jharkhand are 341/6.

Writer's curse, eh?

Karnataka have lost three quick wickets in no time, slipping to 324 for 8. Two of those off consecutive deliveries to Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, who picked up four wickets yesterday.

He first had Smaran caught at short leg to a decision that seemed contentious, with replays suggesting it lobbed off the pad. Smaran didn't hide his displeasure at the decision, eventually having to be dragged off the field for 77.

Then M Venkatesh, the seamer, was out first ball and Shreyas Gopal, who played superbly for 56, was prised out by Jaydev Unadkat.

It's all happening on the second morning in Rajkot.

In Rajkot, Karnataka have continued to build and set themselves a strong platform from where they can aim to bat just once in this game against Saurashtra.

After half-centuries from Devdutt Padikkal and Karun Nair during a 146-run partnership for the third-wicket, Karnataka lost both set batters and KL Shrijith in quick succession, slipping to 214 for 5.

Since then, R Smaran and Shreyas Gopal have put on a century stand as Karnataka move to 315 for 5.

Smaran is tall, nearly six feet. The penchant to clear the ropes comes from having long levers that he uses to his advantage. But that is only one aspect of a game that he says is very much 'work in progress.'

In his short career already, he's shown the ability to grind his way through. Smaran is strong square of the wicket, a by-product of his ability to pick lengths and play well off the back foot. He also prides himself on being an excellent player of spin, something a lot of former Karnataka players and talent scouts have vouched for.

I had the opportunity to sit down with him earlier this here. You can read the full interview here.

After being pulled up for seemingly not prioritising domestic cricket last year, Ishan Kishan seems to have put the past behind him. He's now focused on trying to maximise every opportunity he gets. He spoke to reporters after the day's play in Coimbatore yesterday, after finishing 123 not out.

Group A

Aman Mokhade's maiden first-class ton powers Vidarbha v Nagaland

Senapati, Dhuper fifties lift Odisha after they lose 4/0 vs Baroda

Ishan Kishan steadies Jharkhand after Gurjapneet strikes for TN

KS Bharat & Shaikh Rasheed in mammoth stand as Andhra flatten UP.

Group B

Padikkal, Karun & Samarth give Karnataka the honours v Saurashtra

Tejrana, Lalit help Goa run Chandigarh ragged

Saransh Jain's six-for gives MP the advantage against Punjab

Gaikwad 91 revives Maharashtra after Kerala seamers run amok

Group C

Jaiswal, Shami skittle Uttarakhand; Easwaran bags golden duck

Swapnil Singh strikes on Tripura debut to stifle Services

Saikia, Parag among the runs as Assam defy Gujarat

Haryana take honours against Railways on 16-wicket day

Group D

Siddesh Lad 116, Shams Mulani 79 powers Mumbai v J&K

Sangwan 91*, Doseja 97* put Delhi on top v Hyderabad

Mayank Dagar rescues Himachal after top-order collapse v Puducherry

Mandal hits ton puts Chhattisgarh ahead v Rajasthan

He picks up three wickets in an over, his 15th of the day, as Uttarakhand have been bundled out for 213 at Eden Gardens. Shami finishes with figures of 14.5-4-37-3. Bengal openers will have a tricky little passage to see out the day.

In Coimbatore, Ishan Kishan has led the way with a captain's knock for Jharkhand, lifting them from a precarious 133 for 5 against Tamil Nadu. Kishan got there off 142 balls, hitting 12 fours and two sixes. It's been an afternoon of toil for the hosts, who've been unable to strike with the kind of regularity they did in the morning session with left-arm seamer Gurjapneet Singh picking up three wickets.

Kishan has had a decent build-up to the season. He had a county stint earlier in the year, and was in line to be picked in India's Test squad for the Oval Test after Rishabh Pant fractured his foot, but had to miss out after suffering an e-bike accident. His place eventually was taken by N Jagadeesan, part of the opposition camp in this match.

Kishan then featured in the Irani Cup earlier this month, where he managed scores of 1 and 35 for Rest of India.

In a relatively easier game first-up against Nagaland, who've earned a promotion to Elite Division, batter Aman Mokhade has hit his maiden first-class century in his ninth match to take them to 219 for 3 before rain stops play in Bengaluru. Local boy R Samarth, who is playing for Vidarbha this season, managed just 3.

Elsewhere in Ahmedabad, Assam are 195 for 4 against Gujarat. Riyan Parag got off to a start, but his innings was cut short on 40.

He walked in to bat in the second over, and soon saw Maharashtra slip to 5 for 4 and 18 for 5. While the wicket wasn't a green top by any means, fast bowlers were still able to get some zip and movement off the surface. Gaikwad, batting at No. 4 and wanting to carve a niche in the middle order, rescued the innings with a a crucial 122-run stand for the fifth-wicket with Jalaj Saxena. Gaikwad is currently unbeaten on 83, with Maharashtra at a far more comfortable 154 for 6.

He last played a Test more than 18 months ago — and hasn’t come close to selection since.

In that time, Rishabh Pant has returned to full fitness and reclaimed his place as India’s first-choice wicketkeeper, while Dhruv Jurel has emerged as a capable understudy, now even pushing his case as a specialist batter.

Ishan Kishan, meanwhile, featured for the Rest of India in the Irani Cup, and N Jagadeesan has been around the fringes too — serving as reserve keeper during the England and West Indies Tests in Pant’s absence.

So where does that leave Bharat — the only one among them without even an IPL contract at the moment?

Earlier this year, he went to the UK to play amateur cricket, just to shred the frustration of missing out on the IPL and to keep himself busy. Even that stint only happened to come to him by chance.

With Vidarbha's Apoorv Wankhade unable to obtain a visa because he hasn't played enough first-class cricket to qualify, Ollie Steele, captain of Dulwich (the club Bharat played for), rang up an agency that has a good database of available overseas players. It's during this process that they'd identified Bharat, who had played more than the games needed to secure a visa. That he captained Andhra was an added bonus.

Anyway, back to the present and he's on 86 as Andhra are currently 201/1 v Uttar Pradesh in Kanpur. He's got Sheikh Rasheed for company.

Karun Nair celebrates his return to Karnataka after three years with a typically doughty half-century in Rajkot, along with Devdutt Padikkal. The pair have now put on a century stand for the third wicket after Dharmendrasinh Jadeja struck early for Saurashtra with the wickets of Mayank Agarwal and Nikin Jose.

Padikkal has been fluent, and has carried on from where he left off for India A last month, when he made 150 against Australia A in Lucknow. Straight off a flight from Delhi, he's looked compact for much of his vigil so far. He had a stroke of luck when he was put down at slip, but has looked extremely pleasing otherwise.

Karun has been his usual self, solid against swing and enterprising against spin, bringing out the sweeps and paddles, including one to bring up his half-century, his 38th in first-class cricket. Karnataka 128/2

Incidentally, it was Padikkal who in a way replaced Nair in India's Test squad for the West Indies series. Nair, 33, now has the unenviable task of scoring heavily all over again to remain on the selection radar.

Meanwhile in Srinagar....

It's been a seamers' morning at the Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium in Srinagar. J&K's seamers have justified Paras Dogra's decision to bowl first, with Auqib Nabi and Yudhveer Singh reducing Mumbai to 74/3 before lunch. This included the big wicket of former skipper Ajinkya Rahane for 27. Since then, Sarfaraz Khan and Siddesh Lad have stabilised the innings as they've progressed to 114/3.

Mohammed Shami has expressed his displeasure at not being considered, despite doing whatever he should in terms of his fitness. All said, the fact is he has played in only two first-class games since the WTC final. Now, hoping to put behind the selection snub and wanting to make the most of whatever opportunities he gets, he has started the Ranji season for Bengal.

His first spell reads 7-0-16-0 as Bengal have kept Uttarakhand on a tight leash at Eden Gardens. Uttarakhand 82/3, with two of the wickets taken by Suraj Jaisal.

An erroneous BCCI scorecard has now been fixed, as has ours. We apologise for the confusion.

Atit Sheth, the Baroda seam-bowling allrounder, is on fire in Cuttack. Odisha seemed to have started solidly, with the openers racing away to 49 without loss. And then suddenly, five overs later, they're tottering on 49 for 4, with Sheth picking up two of those wickets.Odisha's hopes of a rescue is now pinned on Subranshu Senapati, the captain, and Rajesh Dhuper

Coming into the Ranji opener, he needed two wickets to get to the milestone, and he has picked up the first two Karnataka wickets to fall. They're 35/2, with Karun Nair & Devdutt Padikkal at the crease.

Over the past 12 months, Saransh Jain is one of just four players with the double of 300-plus runs and 40-plus wickets. In a country with an abundance of left-arm orthodox spinners, Saransh falls in the rare category of an offspin-bowling allrounder. And often, he's been the difference in bowling attacks for whichever team he has played for.

Straight off a Player-of-the-tournament performance in the Duleep Trophy, which Central Zone won, Saransh makes early inroads for Madhya Pradesh at the Emerald High International Grounds in Indore. Punjab are 41/3.

In Rajkot, Mayank Agarwal was given an early life on 1 when Jaydev Unadkat put down a tough return catch off a leading edge, but he manages to add just 1 more to his score as he falls to Dharmendrasinh Jadeja's left-arm spin. Looking to give him the charge and break the shackles, he hits one flat and straight to mid-off.

Karnataka 13/1 as Devdutt Padikkal, who linked up with the squad last evening following the India-West Indies Test in Delhi, comes in at No. 3.

In Trivandrum:

N Basil, with the new ball from the other end, sends back Arshin Kulkarni as he's caught at third slip. Maharashtra are 0/3 and in need of a rescue from two of their most-experienced batters: Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ankit Bawne.

Bawne is the second-highest run-getter among active Ranji players, behind Jammu & Kashmir professional Paras Dogra (9505), with 7244 runs, and the highest run-getter overall in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy with 4010 runs. This is testament to the 32-year-old's durability and consistency. He talks about his journey over the years with Deivarayan Muthu.

New team, new start. But it ends in a four-ball duck. Shaw plays all around a full'ish delivery that seams back in to hit him plumb in front as MD Nidheesh draws first blood for Kerala in Trivandrum. But that isn't the only strike in the first over. Nidheesh also sends back Siddesh Veer as he nicks off to the wicketkeeper. Maharashtra 0/2 after being put in to bat.