Gujarat clinch a Kotla thriller

Gujarat 143 and 218 for 8 (Thaker 55, Bhandari 5-65) beat Delhi 69 and 291 by 2 wickets
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Gujarat's lower order dug its heels in and snatched a thrilling two-wicket victory over Delhi on the final day at the Feroz Shah Kotla, despite a second successive five-wicket haul from Amit Bhandari, Delhi's captain and opening bowler. Three wickets in the space of 10 balls completely changed the complexion of the match as Delhi staged a magnificent last-ditch effort, but Hemal Watekar, who remained unbeaten on an invaluable 21 from 116 deliveries, cracked a four to seal the result in favor of the tourists. Bhandari - who took his match tally to 11 - struck twice in the morning to send back Nilesh Modi, who posted 43, and Bhavik Thaker, who top-scored with 55. Marshalled around Mukund Parmar, their veteran captain, Gujarat's lower order put up a defiant hand to thwart any further strikes from Bhandari and completed their maiden win of the season.

Maharashtra 318 and 202 for 1 (Jadhav 79*, Kanitkar 56*, Satbhai 53) beat Tamil Nadu 275 and 242 by 9 wickets
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Dheeraj Jadhav and Hrishikesh Kanitar, with an unbeaten 119-run stand, steered Maharashtra to an emphatic nine-wicket victory - their first of the season - over Tamil Nadu on the final day at Nasik. This was a stirring performance from Jadhav, tipped by many to be India material, after he compiled a classy hundred in the first innings. The only success for Tamil Nadu was when Ramakrishnan Ramkumar, the slow left-arm bowler, broke an 83-run opening partnership by dismissing Satyajit Satbhai, the wicketkeeper, for a well-compiled fifty, preventing Maharashtra from gaining a bonus point that a ten-wicket win would have brought them.

Hyderabad 328 and 190 for 9 (Joginder 5-56) drew with Haryana 168 and 283 for 6 (Joon 102*, Joginder 58)
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Deepak Joon's maiden first-class hundred and a terrific allround showing from Joginder Sharma took Haryana to a draw at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium and ensured that they remained third in the points tally. Joginder was the star of the day, seizing his fourth five-wicket haul of the season to restrict Hyderabad the home side to 190 for 9 and then smashing a run-a-ball 58 to assist Joon in an 87-run stand for the sixth wicket. After Joginder's fine spell early on, Arjun Yadav, the home captain, decided to call his batsmen in and set Haryana a target of 351. The 19-year old Pragyan Ojha, Hyderabad's left-arm spinner, rewarded this decision by striking crucial blows to Haryana's top order before Joon and Joginder took centerstage.

Uttar Pradesh 433 drew with Punjab 238 and 293 for 3 (Mongia 175*, Bipul Sharma 62)
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Dinesh Mongia, Punjab's captain, produced a fine hundred to take his side to a draw after being forced to follow-on by Uttar Pradesh. Heading into the final day, Punjab were 34 for 2, and a few quick wickets in the morning could have tiled the scales UP's way, but Mongia thwarted them. Partnered in a 182-run stand by Bipul Sharma, who scored a fine fifty of his own, Mongia wrested any initiative UP thought they had, notching up his 23rd first-class hundred, and second this season. Following some consistent performances for Leicestershire in the English county season arlier this year, Mongia had spoken out at his disappointment of not getting a nod from the national selectors; today, he walked the talk.

Services 296 and 255 for 5 (Yashpal Singh 87, Jasvir Singh 50*) drew with Andhra 395
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Yashpal Singh and Jasvir Singh produced fighting half-centuries to take Services to 255 for 5 as their match against Andhra petered out to a draw. Earlier, Madhusudhan Reddy and Sumit Tomar steadily pressed on during the final day's play afer AK Mohanty's maiden five-wicket haul dismissed Andhra for 395. Andhra claimed two points from a first-innings lead, leaving Services, yet to register points, at the bottom of the table.

Mumbai 367 and 132 for 4 (Muzumdar 51*) drew with Railways 332 (Powar 4-129)
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Ramesh Powar and Nilesh Kulkarni bagged seven wickets between them to spin Railways out for 332, giving Mumbai the vital first-innings lead at the Wankhede Stadium. Resuming at 269 for 7, Railways rode on a battling 46 from Shreyas Khanolkar as he guided the lower order towards Mumbai's 367. But he fell to Powar before Kulkarni mopped up the tail with customary efficiency. With two points in the bag, Mumbai, led by Amol Muzumdar, settled for batting practice as the game meandered to a draw. Muzumdar followed up his century in the first innings with an unbeaten fifty and took his tally to 375 runs in four games this season.

Bengal 335 and 286 for 7 (Tewari 80, Shukla 78) drew with Karnataka 292
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A maiden first-class fifty from Manoj Tewari, playing in just his fourth match, and another from Laxmi Ratan Shukla, the allrounder, helped earn Bengal two points from a drawn encounter with Karnataka at Mysore and maintain their lead in the Group A points table. A fine 80-run opening stand between Arindam Das and Subhomoy Das was broken by Vinay Kumar, Karnataka's fast bowler, and led to a period of collapse for Bengal. Kumar and Sunil Joshi, who opened the bowling, shared six wickets between them but it couldn't alter Karnataka's fortunes, who with just three points and no wins, remained at the lower rung of the table.