Jadeja pilots Rajasthan to dramatic win

Ajay Jadeja's unbeaten 77 helped Rajasthan to a nailbiting one-wicket win in a cracker of a contest against Jammu & Kashmir at Jhalwar. Needing 77 at the start of the day with five wickets in hand, Rajasthan were guided by Jadeja's experienced hand all through the final phase. Abid Nabi, the 19-year-old medium-pacer, snapped up all the four wickets to fall today and threatened to pull it off for J&K but Sanjay Gill and Pankaj Singh provided Jadeja with valuable support. Mohammad Aslam, the No.11, walked in with 10 still needed but his 28-minute stay in the middle was all that Jadeja needed to seal the issue.

A captain's knock from Rajiv Kumar, and plucky contributions from the middle order, propelled Jharkhand to a thrilling two-wicket win over Assam at Jamshedpur. Needing an imposing 301 more runs on the final day, Jharkhand were propped up by Kumar's patient 70. Forties from Manish Kumar and Mohan Jha got them close and despite a lower-order stutter, a critical 28 from Shanbaz Nadeem, the bowling hero from the second innings, settled the game.

Naman Ojha's rollicking double-hundred, punctuated with 19 fours and a staggering 11 sixes, and Sachin Dholpure's century were the highlights of a run-filled final day of a drawn encounter between Madhya Pradesh and Kerala at Indore. Having gained first-innings honours on the third day, MP gained some valuable batting practice with their openers in a gluttonous mood, plundering a mammoth 337 for the first wicket. Having made his reputation as a good wicketkeeper, Ojha raced to his maiden first-class hundred and went on to make it a memorable double by the end of the day.

Amit Deshpande, the opener, and Samir Khare (49 not out) led Vidarbha to a convincing seven-wicket win over Saurashtra at Rajkot. Needing 104 on the final day, Vidarbha lost just two more wickets in pursuit of the target with both Alind Naidu and Swaroop Srivastava making handy contributions. Sandip Maniar, the opening bowler, dismissed both Deshpande and Naidu, to add to the one wicket he grabbed last evening, but Khare cracked six fours and a six in a breezy knock and took them home.

Niranjan Behera's vital 67 gave Orissa the first-innings honours at the end of their clash against Tripura at Cuttack. Resuming on 214 for 6, needing 20 more runs to gain the lead, Behera guided the lower order and achieved the objective. Orissa went on to reach 277, and with the draw a certainty, Tripura, led by Rajesh Bainik, who made a fighting 67, batted out the rest of the day.