Haryana on top following Joginder hat-trick

Haryana 129 and 0/0 require 242 runs to beat Andhra 202 and 168 (Joginder 7-47)
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Joginder Sharma picked up 7 for 47 - including a hat-trick to skittle out the tail - as Haryana dismissed Andhra for 168 and set themselves 242 to win at Rohtak.

A comprehensive bowling performance dismissed Haryana for 129 and gave Andhra the second day's honours at the Bansi Lal Stadium in Rohtak. Syed Sahabuddin grabbed three wickets and Chandramouli Prasad , Gnaneswara Rao and D Kalyankrishna two apiece to run riot over a hapless Haryana, whose top and middle orders came a cropper after a good display with the ball on day one.

Kalyankrishna, Prasad and Rao combined to nip out the top order, while Sahabuddin caused trouble down the order. Haryana's top-scorers were Sumit Sharma, the opener, and Amit Mishra, the legspinning captain, with 27. Haryana came back well to reduce Andhra to 67 for 3 at the close, but with a 140-run lead and Haryana's dismal first innings as evidence, Andhra were in the driving seat.

Bengal 156 and 112 for 4 (Ganguly 43) lead Punjab 157 (Ricky 47, Bose 4-47) by 111 runs
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Ranadeb Bose, Bengal's opening bowler, picked up four wickets to reduce Punjab to 157 before Bengal took a 111-run lead at stumps on the second day of their Ranji Trophy clash at Mohali. Sourav Ganguly, Bengal's captain, made amends for his first-innings 6 with a 65-ball 43 but fell nine overs before the close of the day as Punjab grabbed four wickets.

Ravneet Ricky, the Punjab opener, resumed the day on 33 and progressed to 47 when Ganguly dismissed him leg before, his third wicket of the innings. Eklak Ahmid, the debutant partner to Bose, picked up two wickets to complement Bose's strikes as Punjab took a slender 1-run lead. Bengal's second innings didn't get off smoothly as L Ablash quickly grabbed three wickets. Ganguly and Abhishek Jhunjhunwala (33 not out) added 70 before Gagandeep Singh returned to trap Ganguly leg before.

Uttar Pradesh 259 for 4 (Ravikant 89*, Yadav 61*) trail Saurashtra 342 (Mehta 63*, Srivastava 4-89) by 83 runs
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Ravikant Shukla and Jyoti Prakash Yadav added 116 for the fifth wicket as Uttar Pradesh came within 83 runs of Saurashtra's first-innings 342 at the Ordinance Equipment Factory Ground at Kanpur. A top-order wobble had left UP at 143 for 4 but a rookie-veteran combination buckled down to add some shine to the innings. Shukla was 11 short of a maiden first-class hundred at stumps. For Saurashtra, Pratik Mehta, overnight on 38, progressed to his maiden first-class half-century and was unbeaten on 63. Shalabh Srivastava, the medium-fast bowler, picked up 4 for 89 and Rudra Pratap Singh ended with 3 for 90.

Karnataka 85 and 180 for 4 (Chougule 53*) lead Baroda 257 (Panchal 72) by 8 runs
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Baroda gained the upper hand by running away to a 172-run lead and prised out four quick wickets before Karnataka rallied through an 84-run partnership between Deepak Chougule and Thilak Naidu to stay afloat in the contest. Baroda were lifted by Ketan Panchal's 72. The left-handed batsman making his debut, was involved in a 54-run partnership with Yousuf Pathan (33) and guided the lower middle order to boost Baroda to a healthy score. Robin Uthappa, who failed in the first innings, started off the Karnataka reply in a brisk fashion with a 30-ball 34 but failed to capitalise the good start. Both he and Bharat Chipli, his fellow opener, fell to the guile of Rajesh Powar, the left-arm spinner, who ended the day with three wickets.

Rajasthan 204 and 134 for 5 (Solanki 58, Makda 5-51) lead Gujarat 128 by 210 runs
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Rajasthan established a stranglehold by bowling out Gujarat for 128 before Gagan Khoda extended the lead with an unbeaten 68. All the bowlers shared the spoils as Gujarat, overnight on 43 for 2, crumbled to 128. Only Nilesh Modi, the opener, offered any semblance of fight with a patient 135-ball 30. Khoda held Rajasthan together in their second innings, chugging along merrily with nine fours and a six to lift the side to a commanding position by the end of the second day.

Hyderabad 254 for 3 (Anirudh 100*, Teja 84) v Maharashtra
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Overnight rain prevented a single ball from being bowled on the second day at the Chatrapati Shivaji Stadium in Karad. Anirudh Singh, Hyderabad's No. 3 batsman, was unbeaten on 100, his third first-class hundred.