Chowdhury holds fort as Tripura go top

Tripura took the top spot in the group - to reach eight points - after narrowly beating Rajasthan by one wicket in Agartala. The match was tantalisingly poised at stumps yesterday with the hosts needing 16 runs to win with two wickets remaining. There were some anxious moments before Tripura achieved the target of 130 in the 14th over of the day. Debabrata Chowdhury, who cracked four boundaries during his 103-ball effort guided them home along with Jayanta Debnath. Madhur Khatri claimed 4 for 43 for Rajasthan, finishing with a match haul of ten, but it was in vain as Tripura grabbed all five points.

Jharkhand and Vidarbha played out a draw in Ranchi, and the washed out first day contributed heavily to the result. Vidarbha had reached 160 for 7 at stumps on the third day, but a half-century from Akshay Wakhare, who was supported well by the lower order, took them to a respectable 248. For Jharkhand, Kuldeep Sharma and Shahbaz Nadeem grabbed three wickets each to give their team a handy lead of 44. But their batsmen struggled in the second innings, as fast bowler Umesh Yadav grabbed a career-best 6 for 40 to leave Jharkhand at 155 for 9 at stumps, just 111 ahead. Jharkhand and Vidarbha have drawn each of their two games in the league, but the former are ahead on points after gaining a first-innings lead. Jharkhand are placed third in Group A with four points, while Vidarbha are fifth with just two.

Margao finally witnessed some play after three washed out days, as Assam reached 177 for 5 at stumps on the fourth and final day. With little to be derived out the game, but for a point for each team, Assam got some batting practice in the 64 overs they faced. Opener Dheeraj Jadhav top scored with 57, while captain Amol Muzumdar made a patient 44. There were two wickets apiece for Kshemal Waingankar and Reagan Pinto. Goa now stand with three points and are placed fourth on Group A, while Assam are at the bottom.

Haryana are at the top of the Group B table after securing three points against Jammu and Kashmir, who conceded a first-innings lead, in Srinagar. J&K, who are now placed at the bottom of the table, had done well on the third day, bowling out the opposition for 225. However, they were let down by their batsmen in the reply, as they failed to measure up to the bowling of legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal (4 for 22) and Joginder Sharma (3 for 50) to be bowled out for 179, a deficit of 46. Only Hiken Shah offered any significant resistance, scoring 52, but his efforts were in vain. Haryana's performance in their brief second innings was lacklustre - they reached 57 for 3 at stumps - but a lead in the first innings meant they got what they wanted out of a rain-affected encounter.

There was no play possible on the fourth day in Indore, between Madhya Pradesh and Kerala. Only one team had an opportunity to bat in the game - MP made 172 for 3 - and as a result, the teams earned a point each. Both teams are equal on points, but MP are ahead at third place in the table, due to a higher quotient of 0.697.

Group A

Teams	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	Draw	Aban	Pts	Quotient	For	Against
Tripura	2	1	0	0	1	0	8	0.938	747/29	906/33
Rajasthan	2	1	1	0	0	0	5	1.106	792/40	698/39
Goa	2	0	0	0	2	0	4	1.006	677/18	598/16
Jharkhand	2	0	0	0	2	0	4	0.952	1045/32	686/20
Vidarbha	2	0	0	0	2	0	2	1.049	669/21	1124/37
Assam	2	0	1	0	1	0	1	0.936	566/25	484/20

Group B

Teams	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	Draw	Aban	Pts	Quotient	For	Against
Haryana	2	0	0	0	2	0	6	1.521	1072/23	613/20
Andhra	1	0	0	0	1	0	3	1.452	488/10	336/10
Madhya Pradesh	2	0	0	0	2	0	2	0.697	606/11	790/10
Kerala	2	0	0	0	2	0	2	0.560	336/10	660/11
Jammu & Kashmir	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	0.825	179/10	282/13