Srinivas, Shah spin TN to big win

Left-arm spinner Aushik Srinivas' returns of 5 for 12 in 10 overs helped set up Tamil Nadu's 277-run rout of Jammu & Kashmir on the third day in Dindgul. Srinivas also had support from left-arm spinner Rahil Shah, who took 3 for 64 to end with a match haul of seven wickets.

Tamil Nadu's declaration at 286 for 5 had set J&K a target of 409 and they started poorly, stumbling to 38 for 2 in the tenth over. Shubham Khajuria and Ian Dev Singh steadied the innings with a 55-run stand for the third wicket but Shah broke the partnership, dismissing Ian Dev for 31. Srinivasan then struck, getting rid of J&K captain Parvez Rasool for a duck, and the side soon lost Khajuria for 60. That dismissal triggered off a slide that saw J&K lose their last six wickets for 15 runs.

Tamil Nadu began the third day at 199 for 1 and the overnight pair of Abhinav Mukund and B Aparajith extended their partnership to 174 runs before Abhinav fell with the score at 243. Aparajith was dismissed four overs later and the side lost a few quick wickets before the declaration.

Uttar Pradesh's seam bowlers dismissed Madhya Pradesh for 63 in the second innings, setting up an interesting final day at the Holkar Stadium in Indore. Chasing 180, UP need 98 runs more with six wickets in hand.

UP started the day on 149 for 6 and despite Piyush Chawla's solid 42, the rest of the lower order crumbled as MP took the last four wickets in the morning session for just 31 runs.

With a lead of 116 runs, MP's top order had to bat sensibly on a green top. However, Amit Mishra, who took the new ball instead of RP Singh, laid waste to those plans. Praveen Kumar struck in the first and third overs of the innings, while Mishra got wickets off successive deliveries in the second over to leave MP at 1 for 4.

Mishra kept on striking regularly and finished with 6 for 26, as MP were bundled out for their joint third-lowest total in first-class cricket. Harpeet Singh's 37 was the only double-digit score for MP.

Chasing 180, opener Tanmay Srivastava was dropped at point by Rameez Khan but Avesh Khan's triple strikes, including a horrendous lbw decision by umpire Sanjay Hazare to rule Srivastava out when the ball had pitched way outside leg-stump, reduced UP to 82 for 4.

Karnataka enforced the follow-on on the third day after their bowlers wrapped up Bengal's first-innings for 251 in Kolkata. Fifites from Sudip Chatterjee and Shreevats Goswami weren't enough as Vinay Kumar and S Aravind picked up three wickets each to give Karnataka a first-innings lead of 157 runs.

Bengal resumed the day on 62 for 1, but lost Rohan Banerjee as soon as they reached 100. Vinay then trapped Manoj Tiwary lbw for a duck, leaving Bengal at 101 for 3. Chatterjee (57) steered the innings again, in the company of Goswami, with a partnership of 71 runs before Vinay dismissed Chatterjee , too. Karnataka's pacers hardly allowed any partnerships to flourish by striking with regular wickets. Goswami stretched the score from 187 for 5 to 251 eventually with a patient 68 but Bengal lost their last five wickets for 37 runs and could not avoid the follow-on.

The hosts were dented further before stumps when Aravind dismissed Banerjee for 16, and Bengal ended the day on 46 for 1, still trailing by 111 runs with a day left.

Pacer Shardul Thakur's first-class best of 6 for 59 limited Railways to 242 but Mumbai were reduced to 24 for 3 at the end of the third day in Delhi, giving Railways a shot at taking away three points from the contest.

No play was possible on the second day and Railways resumed their innings at 25 for 2. They were reduced to 54 for 3. Mahesh Rawat and Arindam Ghosh steadied the innings with a 57-run partnership and Rawat chipped in with 68. Railways were struggling at 170 for 6 before Arnab Nandi rallied the lower order through an unbeaten 61.

In reply, Anureet Singh and Krishnakant Upadhyay dismissed Mumbai's openers quickly before Aditya Tare's run-out added to the side's trouble. Of the 24 runs on the scoreboard, 17 were scored by Hiken Shah, who will be key to Mumbai's fortunes on the final day