Ramesh's century gives Kerala the edge

Kerala 323 for 8 (Ramesh 118) lead Madhya Pradesh 307 by 16 runs
Scorecard

Sadagoppan Ramesh's fine 118 enabled Kerala to edge ahead of Madhya Pradesh on the third day at Palakkad. Resuming on 122 for 2, Kerala chipped away at MP's lead with Ramesh sharing a useful partnership with his skipper Sreekumar Nair. Ramesh's wicket, for 118, triggered a mini collapse with Kerala struggling on 241 for 7 but handy lower-order contributions from Vipin Lal (37) and Sadanandan Anish (42*) guided Kerala past MP's total.

Goa 306 and 87 for 4 trailVidarbha 436 (Acharya 148, Shrivastava 63, Afzal 61) by 43 runs
Scorecard

A composed 148 from Madusudhan Acharya was complemented by half-centuries from O Afzal and Shalab Shrivastava as Vidarbha took the upperhand on the third day at Margao. Resuming on 237 for 3, Vidarbha moved to 436 by the end of their innings. Both Afzal and Shrivastava were aggressive in their stints - managing 17 boundaries between them - playing their part in gaining a 130-run lead. Goa ended the day on a trcky 87 for 4, still 43 adrift of avoiding an innings defeat.

Orissa262 and 79 for 4 lead Himachal Pradesh 211 by 130 runs
Scorecard

Bad light allowed only 35 overs of play on the third day at Dharamsala. Himachal Pradesh lost four wickets in the time available, allowing Orissa, still 13 runs ahead, to harbour hopes of an outright win.

Jharkhand 242 and 133 for 5 lead Jammu & Kashmir 319 (Mahajan 61, Dhar 51, Rao 5-69) by 56 runs
Scorecard

Jammu & Kashmir strengthened their position on the third day at Jamshedpur with Jharkhand just 56 runs ahead with only five wickets standing. Resuming on 208 for 3, J&K forged ahead thanks to half-centuries from Majid Dhar and Dhruv Mahajan but Shankar Rao and Sumit Panda - with nine wickets between them - helped Jharkhand pull things back. Jharkhand, though, couldn't consolidated their position, losing five wickets for 133 by the time stumps were drawn.