Khaleel sparkles amid the gloom
A summary of the third day in the latest round of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group
Cricinfo staff
11-Dec-2005
Hyderabad 200 and 168 for 7 (Khalil 101*) trail Punjab 550 for 7 (Sharma 126*) by 182 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
Ibrahim Khaleel's second century of the season - a fighting knock under trying circumstances - appeared unlikely to prevent Hyderabad, still 183 runs behind with only three wickets in hand, from slipping to defeat against Punjab at Chandigarh. Punjab were in a dominant position after amassing 550 for 7 in their first innings, thanks to centuries from Ravneet Ricky, who notched his career-best 180, Gaurav Gupta and Muneesh Sharma, whose maiden first-class hundred came in only his fifth match. Punjab's day of dominance continued through its fast bowlers - Gagandeep Singh, Hardevinder Sandhu and L Ablash picked up two wickets each. All three bowlers were irrepressible in the afternoon session, leaving Hyderabad shell-shocked at 4 for 11 before Khaleel, the wicketkeeper, led a fine counterattack.
Haryana 260 and 223 for 3 (Rana 83*, Verma 55*) lead Baroda 339 (Solanki 74*, Joginder Sharma 4-102) by 144 runs
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Scorecard
A brilliant 133-run partnership between Sachin Rana, the first innings centurion, and Siddharth Verma, gave Haryana a lead of 144 over Baroda on the third day of their Elite Group B match at Sirsa. Rana carried on from his magnificent display in the first innings, but it was a marked improvement from the supporting act, namely Verma and Bagheshwar Bist, who hit a solid 40 from the No.3 spot. Earlier, four wickets from Joginder Sharma, Haryana's opening bowler, helped dismiss Baroda for 339, but not before Rakesh Solanki stroked a vital 74, a knock that could help them gain first-innings points.
Gujarat 79 and 57 for 2 require another 268 runs to beat Railways188 and 215 for 6 (Raja Ali 72*)
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Scorecard
Harvinder Singh and Jai Prakash Yadav, Railways' opening bowlers, gave their side a whiff of victory after prizing out one wicket apiece late on the third day at the Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi, leaving Gujarat with 268 more to get. Thanks to a vital fifty from Raja Ali, Railways was given the opportunity to declare their second innings on 295 for 6 and attack the opposition with the 30 remaining overs of the day.
Mayank Tehlan's glorious maiden century took Delhi to 370 for 9 as they all but assured themselves of first-innings honours at the end of the third day's play at Delhi. Tehlan's gritty knock, grafted out in a little more than ten hours, contained just eight fours as he, along with Kunal Lal at No.10, ensured a dominant position. With hardly any time to force a result, the Maharashtra openers, Mansigh Nidge and Dheeraj Jadhav, settled for batting practice and grinded out 16.2 overs to score just 17 before stumps were called.
Uttar Pradesh 430 for 9 (Shamshad 110, Pandey 69*, Shukla 65) lead Services 321 by 109 runs
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Scorecard
A vital hundred from Rizwan Shamshad, Uttar Pradesh's veteran batsman, and a brilliant 96-run stand for the final wicket between Gyanendra Pandey, the captain, and Ashish Zaidi took UP to 430 for 9 at Lucknow, and gave them a 19-run lead over Services. Ravikant Shukla and Suresh Raina also chipped in with fifties as UP enjoyed a prosperous day with the bat. Arun Sharma, the slow left-arm bowler, was the most successful bowler for Services with 4 for 85. With one day to go, a draw may be the likely result unless UP's bowlers can engineer a turnaround tomorrow.
Stoic fifties from Arindam Das and Rohan Gavaskar gave Bengal a 147-run lead against Mumbai at the end of the third day's play at the Wankhede Stadium. Bengal, 37 for 0 overnight, prospered through the day's play despite some testing spells from Nilesh Kulkarni, Mumbai's left-arm spinner, who picked up two wickets. However, an inability to score quickly left them with only one day to force a result, failing which Mumbai will take two points from a drawn encounter.
No play was possible owing to wet ground conditions and the umpires abandoned proceedings without a ball being bowled.