Karnataka eye outright win after Uthappa's 160

Rajasthan 242 and 42 for 3 (Aravind 2-14) trail Karnataka 281 and 318 for 5 dec (Uthappa 160, Reddy 69, Bhatia 2-44) by 316 runs
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Robin Uthappa's first century of the season, a 128-ball 160, gave Karnataka a chance of securing their first outright win this season. Rajasthan, set a target of 358 in a little over three sessions, were tottering on 42 for 3 at stumps.

With a 39-run lead in the bank, Karnataka pressed forward courtesy Uthappa's belligerence to declare their second innings on 318 for 5 in 63 overs. Abhishek Reddy, playing his first game of the season in KL Rahul's absence, made a solid 69, while the late impetus was provided by Stuart Binny (29) and CM Gautam (36 not out).

Rajasthan's quest for survival received a body blow as S Aravind accounted for Vineet Saxena in the sixth over. In his next over, he had Vaibhav Deshpande feel for a delivery that nipped away late and R Samarth pouched one at first slip. When Ashok Menaria, the captain, chopped on to David Mathias in the dying moments of play, Karnataka were cock-a-hoop. Tanveer-ul-Haq, the nightwatchman, blunted 17 deliveries in opener Pranay Sharma's company to prevent further casualty.

Maharashtra 3 for 1 and 237 trail Vidarbha 332 and 149 (Ubarhande 47, Jaffer 33, Darekar 5-78) by 242 runs
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As many as 15 wickets fell, most of them to spin, in Nagpur, with the match headed towards a thrilling climax on the final day. Vidarbha, who had Maharashtra on the ropes by taking a first-innings lead of 95, collapsed to 149 all out in their second dig, with left-arm spinner Akshay Darekar taking five wickets. Chasing 245, Maharashtra lost Swapnil Gugale in the second over to end the day at 3 for 1.

Maharashra, who resumed on 144 for 6, had Chirag Khurana (74) to thank for bringing the deficit to below 100. Vidarbha's second innings then unfurled rather quickly, with Wasim Jaffer (33) being the lone top-order batsman to offer any sort of resistance. Amol Ubarhande, who walked in at No. 8, hit five fours and two sixes in his 40-ball 47 to give his side a chance of registering their second win this season.

Bengal 329 and 146 for 7 (Chatterjee 49, Ashish Hooda 4-39) lead Haryana 225 (R Sharma 78, Chahal 42, Mukesh Kumar 4-53) by 250 runs
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Haryana struck back after conceding a 104-run lead as Bengal ended the day at 146 for 7, ahead by 250 to set up an intriguing final day in Lahli. Ashish Hooda, the medium pacer, triggered the Bengal slide by picking up four wickets; Sudip Chatterjee was the only batsman to weather the attack and top-scored with 49. Pankaj Shaw, who made 54 in the first innings, and Pragyan Ojha were at the crease when stumps were drawn.

Earlier, Haryana, who resumed on 186 for 8, added 39 to their overnight total. Yuzvendra Chahal, the legspinner, made a handy 42 to eat into Bengal's lead. Mukesh Kumar, the medium pacer, picked up 4 for 53, while Ashok Dinda and Veer Pratap Singh claimed two batsmen each.

Odisha 195 for 4 (Sarangi 76*, N Behera 62, Sangwan 2-30) trail Delhi 311 (Milind 59, Pradhan 4-119) by 116 runs
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Anurag Sarangi's unbeaten 76 kept Odisha in the hunt for first-innings honours against Delhi in Bhubaneswar. They were 116 adrift of Delhi's 311 with six wickets intact at stumps.

Delhi's lower order resisted for a good part of the first session. Resuming on 245 for 7, they were driven by Pulkit Narang, who made an unbeaten 41 after coming in at No. 10, while Pradeep Sangwan made a handy 30 to help Delhi get past the 300-mark.

Odisha were in trouble at 40 for 2, but Natraj Behera's 77-run stand for the third wicket with Sarangi kept Delhi's bowlers at bay. Behera was bowled by Narang, but Sarangi kicked on to finish the day unbeaten on 76, 24 short of his maiden first-class century. Sangwan had two wickets to show for his efforts.