Tiwary and Arindam hundreds power Bengal

Bengal 319 for 2 (Arindam 136*, Tiwary 102*, Dasgupta 61) trail Saurashtra 650 for 9 dec (Pathak 118, Jogiyani 103, Pujara 84, Mehta 73) by 331 runs
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Eden Gardens lived up to its billing of a run paradise, as Bengal made merry on the third day against Saurashtra. Resuming on 37 for 1, the home side were powered by centuries from opener Arindam Das and captain Manoj Tiwary. It was Arindam who played the lead role to perfection, teaming up with Deep Dasgupta in the first half of the day to put on 112 for the second wicket. Manoj Tiwary then joined him and the 196-run partnership for the third wicket further strengthened Bengal. Arindam's 282-ball effort included 15 boundaries, while Tiwary hit 11 fours and a six during his 178-ball innings. With both batsmen at the crease, Bengal have reason to believe that they can still go past Saurashtra's mammoth first-innings total, and pick up three points.

Maharashtra 105 (Vinay Kumar 5-40, Mithun 3-32) and 254 for 5 (Bawne 117*, Motwani 78, Mithun 3-48) trail Karnataka 553 for 4 dec (Pawan 152, Satish 141, Verma 148) by 194 runs
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Abhimanyu Mithun looked to have fast-tracked Maharashtra's demise at the Poona Club Ground before a fighting unbeaten century from Ankit Bawne kept the hosts alive. Balanchandra Akhil and overnight centurion Amit Verma continued to plunder the Maharashtra bowling attack when play resumed and Karnataka finally declared on 553 for 4 in the 20th over - a gargantuan lead of 448. Mithun's pace proved too much for the Maharashtra top order, reducing them to 39 for 4. But Bawne and wicketkeeper Rohit Motwani led the rescue effort with a fifth-wicket stand of 188. Motwani struck 11 fours and a six during his half-century, while Bawne hit 19 boundaries and a six. The responsibility now weighs heavy on Bawne if Maharashtra are to salvage anything from this match.

Delhi 202 (Praveen 3-37, Chawla 3-41) and 104 for 2 (Kohli 61*) trail Uttar Pradesh 536 for 7 dec (Parvinder 108, Srivastava 109, Raina 69) by 230 runs
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Praveen Kumar and Piyush Chawla picked up three wickets each as Uttar Pradesh not only picked up first-innings points, but enforced the follow-on as well against Delhi in Lucknow. Resuming on 9 for no loss, Delhi lost wickets regularly as Uttar Pradesh bowlers fired in unison with Praveen and RP Singh inflicting the initial damage. Despite some determined thirties, Delhi failed to stop the hosts from grabbing a lead and were bowled out in the 58th over of the day. It was an improved showing from Delhi second time around, with Virat Kohli scoring a half-century and together with the other not out batsman Puneet Bisht (37), their first aim will be to erase the challenging deficit and avoid an innings-defeat embarrassment.

Gujarat 160 (Ablish 6-79, Gony 4-38) and 227 for 7 (Bhatt 93*, Gony 3-87) trail Punjab 444 (Kohli 118, Rahul Sharma 95, Yadav 6-123) by 57 runs
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Punjab were on the verge of a comprehensive win as Gujarat floundered in their second innings in Mohali. Beginning the day at 261 for 5, Punjab went on to add another 183 runs as overnight batsman Sunny Sohal completed his half-century. Taruwar Kohli, the previous day's centurion, could add only 18 to his score. Both fell victims to the leg spin of Salil Yadav, who finished with six wickets for Gujarat. Punjab's pace trio of Manpreet Gony, Harmeet Singh and Love Ablish rocked the Gujarat top order during their second innings and left them struggling at 95 for 5. Rujul Bhatt however, held one end together as he neared a well-deserved hundred, having hit 15 boundaries. Punjab will look to go in for the kill tomorrow and it will need a special effort from Bhatt if Gujarat are to save the match.

Tamil Nadu 293 for 8 dec (Ashwin 107*, Dinesh Karthik 70, Malik 3-79) and 199 for 5 (Anirudha 72, Malik 3-37) lead Himachal Pradesh 366 (Thakkar 83, Indulkar 71, Mukesh Sharma 78) by 126 runs
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A lead of 73 is what Himachal Pradesh could manage following Dinesh Karthik's declaration slip yesterday, but they would be buoyed by the fact that Tamil Nadu had lost half their side for less than 200 at the end of the day. HP needed just three runs to take a lead when play began in Dharamsala, but they got more, as Kuldeep Diwan (31) and wicketkeeper Ajay Mannu (20) held back Tamil Nadu. A 63-run opening stand, led by Srikkanth Anirudha, looked to have got Tamil Nadu going during their second innings, but Vikramjeet Malik had the final word, striking thrice to knock the wind out of Tamil Nadu's sails. Captain S Badrinath and Yo Mahesh held fort till stumps, but HP look to be in the driver's seat.

Railways 187 (Kulkarni 3-24, Abdulla 3-46) and 174 for 7 lead Mumbai 284 (Rohit 101, Jaffer 75) by 77 runs
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Defending champions Mumbai are in with a good shout to take full points from their encounter against Railways at the Karnail Singh Stadium after the home team ran out of steam in their second essay. Rohit Sharma reached his sixth first-class hundred as Mumbai finished on 284, having begun the day at 248 for 8. Faiz Fazal's 42 at the top of the order was the only bright spot in what was a disappointing Railways second-innings scorecard. Sanjib Sanyal showed some fight with 40, but Harmeet Singh's three wickets along with Iqbal Abdulla's two meant Mumbai took pole position.

Orissa 276 (Mullick 77, MP Arjun 4-52) and 159 for 4 lead Hyderabad 199 (Debasis 4-48, Basant 3-34) by 236 runs
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Debasis Mohanty led the charge with four wickets, while his new-ball partner Basant Mohanty also chipped in with a valuable performance, as Orissa took a first-innings lead in Hyderabad. Resuming on 123 for 5, the hosts earlier could add just 76 in their first essay as the Mohanty duo capitalised on early moisture to make it tough for the batsmen. Barring a patient 38 by MP Arjun, none of the Hyderabad batsmen offered resistance and they succumbed in the 25thover of the day. Bikas Pati (36) and Pravanjan Mullick (35) then helped the visitors to increase their lead in second innings to over 200, bettering their chances of an outright win.