Punjab openers punish Hyderabad

Bengal wrested back the advantage they appeared to have ceded in the first session of the day by picking up early Rajasthan wickets at the Eden Gardens. Double-wicket strikes by Sourav Sarkar and Laxmi Ratan Shukla reduced Rajasthan to 63 for 4 off 31 overs in deteriorating light.

Stumps were called early for the second day in a row as only 50.4 overs were possible today. Rajasthan needed only 19.4 off those to wrap up the Bengal innings as the last six wickets fell for only 71 runs. Overnight batsman Anustup Majumdar was out in the first over of the day bowled by Pankaj Singh but with Shukla to accompany Wriddhiman Saha in the middle, Bengal were still ahead. Rituraj Singh then triggered a collapse, picking up two in an over while Pankaj completed his five-for. Bengal wouldn't have made it to their eventual 258 had Saha not played a fighting 59. But on a day in which seamers caused most problems in overcast conditions, Bengal's own have put them slightly ahead.

Punjab's debutant opener, Jiwanjot SIngh, and Karan Goel both scored centuries to push Hyderabad to the brink in Mohali. Their 243-run opening stand is only 58 short of the opening record for Punjab - 301, set by Navjot Sidhu and Vikram Rathour, against Himachal in 1995-96.

The day began with Hyderabad struggling at 244 for 7, and it took Punjab only 6.3 overs to wipe the rest out. Sandeep Sharma's two late wickets denied Manpreet Gony a five-for, but no one would have complained. Not even Harbhajan Singh, who went wicketless in his 21 overs. His team had done a satisfactory job.

Hyderabad toiled for 81 long overs without success; 23 of those were bowled by India spinner Pragyan Ojha. Neither of the Punjab openers was in any hurry - they both struck at under 50 per 100 balls. Three days short of his 22nd birthday, Jiwanjot gifted himself with a maiden century, hitting 19 fours. And for Goel, this was his third three-figures score at first-class level.

Gujarat took important steps towards a first-innings lead in Indore even though they collapsed spectacularly to lose their last five wickets for just 13 runs. Defending 355, they kept taking wickets frequently, including the important one of Naman Ojha, who fell for 71 shortly before stumps. Gujarat now needed two wickets for under 143 to take first-innings points.

Medium-pacer Anand Rajan engineered a roaring comeback for MP with a career-best 7 for 77 as MP took the last five wickets in just 4.4 overs. However, their batsmen couldn't quite capitalise, and only Ojha touched 50. Amit Singh took three for Gujarat.

Mumbai tightened their hold over the contest against Railways at the Wankhede Stadium, amassing a formidable first-innings total and then making early inroads with the ball. Abhishek Nayar became the third centurion of Mumbai's innings, following Sachin Tendulkar and Ajinkya Rahane who had hit tons on the opening day, and received much assistance from the lower order in stretching the team total and approaching his own landmark. Mumbai bat deep and they scored quickly, and their captain Ajit Agarkar bowled sharply to dismiss the Railways openers. Click here to read the full report.