Ranji Trophy 2012-13, Round I, Day 3

5.05pm End of another fruitful day's cricket in Ranji Trophy, a day before the team is selected for the first Test against England. Two teams have achieved wins: Jharkhand over J&K by an innings and Vidarbha over Haryana by eight wickets. And apart from two other rain-affected matches, all the other eight can still produce outright results. It might be a bit of a stretch in a couple of those games, but it won't be wrong to say that you can't rule out results in 10 of the 12 games of this round.

The day belongs to Punjab's Jiwanjot Singh who became only the fifth Indian batsman to score a double-century on first-class debut. And also to Shabaz Nadeem, who took six wickets in Jharkhand's innings win. For the Indian Test team, there have only been scares. Zaheer Khan took just one wicket before walking off pointing to his groin. Pragyan Ojha and Ishant Sharma continued struggling. Virender Sehwag is fighting a finger injury, and Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli managed only 40s. Sehwag, though, came back to bat at No. 6, and fought for an hour, and is still unbeaten. The coaching staff of Delhi is saying it is nothing serious, and they just wanted to rest him as much as they could

It's all set up for a thrilling final day in many venues. Join us tomorrow for the rolling coverage of all that. Cheers

5pm - Formalities remain for Assam In Guwahati, Ajay Ratra, playing for Tripura, may have taken the game into the fifth day with an unbeaten 75-run seventh-wicket stand with Mora Singh, but they still need 137 to make Assam bat again. Assam will be gunning for full seven points tomorrow

4.55pm - Services dominate Andhra In the rain-interrupted game in Anantapur, Services scored 297 before reducing Andhra to 72 for 5. Amol Muzumdar, playing for Andhra, managed 6

4.50pm - Three centurions for Himachal In Naduan, three Himachal batsmen have scored centuries and batted Kerala out of the game. After Paras Dogra and Amit Kumar, Rishi Dhawan is the third one, with 102 off 107 balls. Two days ago, Aaakash Chopra, his captain, tweeted that Dhawan is an allrounder to watch out for. Leading by 307, Himachal declare, and Vikramjeet Malik even gets a second-innings Kerala wicket before stumps

4.45pm - Parthiv makes declaration In Indore, Gyjarat have made a declaration some 15 minutes before stumps, giving MP 407 to chase. parthiv followed up his 162 in the first innings with an 80 in the second. MP are 14 for no loss

4.40pm - Brothers Kaul on fire in Mohali After Harbhajan made a declaration about 40 minutes before stumps, Siddarth Kaul and Uday Kaul are doing it all by themselves. Ravi Teja and Hanuma Vihari are both gone c Uday b Siddarth. Hyderabad now need 267 to make Punjab bat again

4.35pm - Can Karnataka pull one out of the hat? Not too far from stumps in Vadodara, but Karnataka have come back with four Baroda wickets for 88. Effectively 210 for 4 now. Karnataka will need to bowl Baroda out by lunch tomorrow and then go berserk in the chase if they are to pull off a miracle. Three ducks for Baroda, including captain Yusuf Pathan and first-innings centurion Aditya Waghmode

4.30pm - Nearly stumps in Mumbai Sachin Tendulkar has taken two catches at mid-off, and Railways are now eight down. Their chances of avoiding a follow-on now look bleak. Railways are 348 for 8, still 73 behind follow-on mark

4.24pm - Stumps in Ghaziabad Delhi have hung in and reached 197 for 4. Despite his finger injury, Virender Sehwag has held one up for one hour, allowing Mithun Manhas to reach 63 not out. Delhi are effectively 29 for 4, and are fighting to save this game

4.08pm - Another interruption in Kolkata Poor light again at Eden Gardens. Rajasthan, who were on a roll, are not happy with the decision to walk off. Bengal 109 for 5, which means they are 206 ahead

4.05pm - Sehwag gets attention Virender Sehwag's injured finger is being worked on during a small break in play. Delhi are now 187 for 4. That's 19 ahead. Old pro Mithun Manhas is 61 not out, and Sehwag is fighting with 13 in 45 minutes

3.47pm - Zak walks back Worrying signs for India. Zaheer has walked off the field just five balls into a new spell, in the 99th over of the innings. He appeared to point to his groin after he’d bowled the fifth ball with an abruptly terminated follow-through. He immediately walked back to the umpire, picked up his cap, had a short chat with a couple of fielders and left the field. This was his 21st over of the innings. Remember he’d come out of the dressing room five overs after the tea break. 20.5 – 5- 41 – 1 are his figures. This was his fourth spell of the day.

3.45pm - Chaos in Kolkata Total breakdown of the umpiring machinery. First Nikhil Patwardhan gives Anustup Majumdar out caught at the wicket with neither bat nor glove in the vicinity of the ball. And then they check the replays for a no-ball. Aniket Choudhary's foot has landed on the line, but they still don't call it a no-ball. The third umpire is KN Ananthapadmanabhan

Bengal 101 for 5, total lead 198 now

3.31pm - Sehwag is in Fighting what we believe is an injured ring finger on the right hand, Virender Sehwag has come out to bat at No. 6 for Delhi. He is five not out, and Delhi are 159 for 4, still nine runs in arrears in the third innings

3.30pm - Harbhajan making all-round claims In Mohali, Harbhajan is 48 off 33, hitting five fours and two sixes to help Punjab move swiftly towards a total they can declare at. At 565 got 6, they are now leading by 307 runs. Think it's about time they declared

In fact, as I type, Harbhajan has declared, not bothering about the landmark of 50 runs. Hyderabad need to practically survive till stumps tomorrow to take one point from this game. Punjab will be entertaining thoughts of an innings win here

3.25pm - Sid Talya from Wankhede Zaheer Khan didn’t take the field after tea for five overs, but he’s having a seat outside the MCA pavilion now. Should be back on the next over. He’s bowled pretty well today, on a day when the Railways batsmen have made Mumbai work hard for their wickets. He hasn’t had to do a lot of running while on the field, however, but he’s been probing with the ball. So far, he’s bowled 20 overs for 41 runs and picked up a wicket.

3.20pm - Back in Bengal Light seems to have improved at Eden, and Bengal will now resume at effectively 195 for 3, with a day and a bit to go. Interesting to see if they will declare at some time tomorrow. Light permitting, we can go on till 5pm

Kunal generously sends in another update: "Nice scenes in the stands at Eden. Sunlight seems to be peeping through and the crowds literally urged the umpires to get the action started. The umps have relented :) and the game is about to start again. Great anticipation to watch the local hero Manoj Tiwary play a few strokes."

3.10pm - update from a reader, Kunal, in Kolkata At the Eden, umpires can't quite decide if the light is good enough for play. They first called in the Rajasthan team and five minutes later have sent them back again. Weather spoiling a pretty close game actually. A good session for Rajasthan would have given hope for an outright result (either ways) tomorrow, but it all seems too hazy right now. Quite a shame really.

3pm - rain to TN's rescue Rain arrived again in Cuttack to keep the teams off the field after Tamil Nadu were reduced to 67 for 3. In the two overs possible today, they lost Abhinav Mukund. Odisha will be itching to play, but they will have to wait till tomorrow. Play has been called off for today

In Mohali, Punjab have made their way to a monstrous 533 for 6, a lead of 275. Pragyan Ojha has bowled almost a full ODI innings: his figures are 48-8-187-2. Earlier Jiwanjot Singh became only the fifth Indian to score a double on first-class debut. The declaration can't be too far; Harbhajan is 34 off 36

In Indore, Gujarat are nearing a declaration against MP. They are 184 for 2 in the second innings, after having taken a 105-run lead in the first innings. Another 70 runs before declaring?

In Naduan, Himacha are setting up a base for an outright win. Amit Kumar has joined Paras Dogra as a centurion, and they now lead Kerala's first innings by 208

In Guwahati, Assam are four wickets away from seven points against Tripura. At 120 for 6, they need to score 185 to make Assam bat again

Rain has reduced Anantapur to a one-innings contest, but this could be a close one as Andhra are 42 for 1, chasing 298. Amol Muzumdar yet to come in

2.50pm - Tea update from Sharda Ugra in Ghaziabad Ghaziabad’s Nehru Stadium may have turned into a vociferous and hospitable crucible, but on the field, Uttar Pradesh’s team offers no freebies. Not Ranji Trophy points it would seem either. At tea on the third day in the Ranji Trophy against Delhi, UP are pushing for an outright victory over their much higher-rated and celebrated neighbours. Trailing UP by 168 runs in the first innings, Delhi were 120 for 3. Thay have lost Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli while Virender Sehwag has not taken the field today due to a finger injury sustained last evening. There is confidence in the Delhi camp that Sehwag will come out to bat "if required" and should Delhi lose another wicket he would be. He has been spotted knocking a little

And this from Sid Talya at Wankhede At Tea time on the third day, Railways have reached 283 for 6 in reply to Mumbai’s 570. They still need another 148 to avoid the follow-on. Ashish Yadav’s batting on 11 and Murali Kartik has warmed up with a couple of boundaries, to get to 15.

2.45pm - Big lead for Baroda Rookie left-arm quick Gagandeep Singh has taken his third five-for in four matches to scuttle Karnataka out for just 284. That gives them a lead of 122. However, Baroda have already lost both their openers for ducks, and we could be in for an interesting finish in Vadodara

2.33pm - Usual bad light If it's afternoon, it has to be bad light in Kolkata. Players are off again. Rajasthan have been spirited with the ball, picking three wickets, but Bengal are still effectively 195 for 3, with a day and a little remaining

2.31pm - Sid Talya from Wankhede Zak strikes – he had a catch dropped off his bowling yesterday, but he gets one now, another half-centurion dismissed. Zaheer started off with the second new ball a short while ago. He got Rawat to drive at one and Aditya Tare took a good catch moving to his right. Rawat’s gone for 68 off 83, in 120 minutes. He struck nine boundaries. Railways are 263 for 6 after 84 overs. They need another 158 to save follow-on. The partnership with Ashish Yadav was worth 63. Zaheer’s bowling his 19th over – this over is his third after taking the new ball.

2.30pm - Delhi's third Test star falls too Sehwag is injured, Gambhir has failed to reach fifty, and now Kohli has been dismissed for 43. Jabbing at Bhuvneshwar Kumar, he edges it to the keeper. Delhi 110 for 3, still 58 behind. UP certainly looking at an outright win now.

2.20pm - First bonus points of the season Jharkhand, missing MS Dhoni and Varun Aaron, have beaten Jammu & Kashmir by an innings and 31 runs to take away all seven points. Shabaz Nadeem, the Jharkhand captain, takes six wickets to make it nine for the match. Wonder what Bishan Bedi, the new J&K coach, will tell his boys

2.05pm - First outright win of season Vidarbha have lost two wickets in the paltry chase, but they have posted the first outright win of the season, smashing Haryana by eight wickets in Lahli. That gives them six points

2pm - Go to Ghaziabad Good news for those planning to go to watch the cricket in Ghaziabad. The Sulabh Shauchalaya outside the stadium, the only toilet accessible to those sitting in the press and adjoining areas, has waived off the Rs 2 charge for using the facilities

1.50pm - India openers' bad match continues Virender Sehwag has not come out to bat because of an injured finger, and Gautam Gambhir is out to the first over of Ali Murtuza's left-arm spin, moments after hitting him for a six. Delhi now 76 for 2, needing another 92 to make UP bat again. Manhas is the next man in, so no Sehwag. Gambhir scored 47, Kohli is the man Manhas joins in the middle

1.45pm - Vidarbha won't get all seven Chasing 24, Vidarbha have lost one wicket, which means they will miss out on the bonus point.

Assam, though, seem set for all seven. They have Tripura down at 75 for 4 in the third innings. The visitors need another 230 to make Assam bat in Guwahati

And so do Jharkhand, who have J&K at 136 for 8 in the third innings. Jharkhand led by 182 on first innings

1.25pm - 150 cricketers, one minute Another beauty of Ranji Trophy is the characters you meet at various venues. Sharda Ugra meets Yogender Goswani in Ghaziabad, who holds the Limca record for reciting names of 150 cricketers in one minute. Have a listen

1.15pm - SRT is back Says Sid Talya: "Sachin Tendulkar’s waiting for his turn to get on the field. Takes a seat outside the MCA Pavilion and the few people who are there have all crowded around behind the fence. They can all have a good look at him, up close, for an entire over from Ajit Agarkar."

1.10pm - Ojha finally gets a wicket Stop the press. A current India spinner has finally taken a wicket in Ranji Trophy this season. We can excuse R Ashwin because he hasn't had a bowl yet. Harbhajan Singh bowled 21 overs for 39 runs and no wicket, and in the same match, Pragyan Ojha has finally taken a wicket. His figures: 36-6-139-1. Punjab are now 420 for 4, their lead nearing 200

"GR Viswanath 230 Mysore v Andhra Vijayawada 1967-68 AA Muzumdar 260 Bombay v Haryana Faridabad 1993-94 A Pandey 209* Madhya Pradesh v Uttar Pradesh Bhilai 1995-96 MC Juneja 201 Gujarat V Tamil Nadu Ahmedabad 2011-12 Jivanjot Singh 211 Punjab V Hyderabad Mohali 2012-13"

Thanks Tushar Trivedi, for the list of debut doubles in Indian first-class cricket

1.05pm - Sid Talya at Wankhede I don’t see Sachin Tendulkar on the field after the lunch break. He was there for the whole first session this morning. What a game so far for Kaustubh Pawar – Takes one at second slip, when just minutes earlier he’d dropped one there off Bhille. A repeat of what happened yesterday, when he dropped the Railways openers at third slip and went on to catch both of them exactly there shortly after. Bhille’s been dismissed for 73 off 176 balls (10 fours and a six), 254 minutes. Railways are 200 for 5. Ashish Yadav’s the new man. 1pm - Rain, rain, then no runs Play has finally resumed in Tripura, and in the two overs bowled today, Abhinav Mukund has already fallen without adding to his overnight score. TN now 66 for 3 against Odisha. We have had only 33 overs bowled in this rain-hit game so far

12.37pm - Goes worse for Delhi And makeshift opener Unmukt Chand has fallen for a golden duck, lbw to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Not looking good for Delhi. Virat Kohli is the new man in. Delhi 6 for 1. Need 162 to make UP bat again

12.35pm - Sehwag not to be seen What seemed like an innocuous cut to Sehwag's ring finger on the right hand has now kept him from opening the innings. All kinds of rumours floating around in Ghaziabad that he could have fractured it, but we can't confirm any such thing. In fact the reporters who have spoken to Delhi coach and manager say the x-ray doesn't show a break, and that this is just precautionary

Delhi trail by 168, and Gambhir and Chand are out to open

12.25pm - Vidarbha chase 34 Haryana's last wicket annoyed Vidarbha for a bit, adding 36, but Vidarbha are now chasing 34. They will hate to lose a wicket doing so, because they can get a bonus point if they win by 10 wickets

12.20 - time for lunch The menu at Wankhede is: German potato salad, red papde uppkari, fish curry, veg pualo, chapatis, dal makhni, curd, papad and vanilla ice cream

12.05pm - Karnataka fight In Vadodara, Karnataka are 233 for 5 in pursuit of 407 for a firstinnings lead against Baroda. Stuart Binny is fighting again, not out on 38, and in an unbeaten stand of 60 for the sixth wicket

At Wankhede, Mumbai have turned the screws a little. Says Sid Talya: 'Mumbai in control at lunch on the third day at Wankhede. Sanjay Bangar and Nitin Bhille had put together a century stand, but Nayar removed Bangar for 67. Bhille has gone on to make 66 and is unbeaten at lunch. He lost Parag Madkaikar, who is playing his maiden first-class game, a short while ago, caught at forward short leg. Railways are 184 for 4 in 61 overs at the break, still 386 adrift and 237 short of the follow-on target. Zaheer Khan’s figures so far are 16-4-28-0. Ramesh Powar has been the most expensive, going for 79 in 12 overs but he picked up Madkaikar’s wicket the ball after he was smashed over mid-off for a boundary."

In Mohali, Punjab are piling it on. At 400 for 2, they already lead by 142, and Jiwanjot Singh has reached 211 on debut. Ojha wicketless after 33 overs

In Indore, Gujarat are consolidating their first-innings lead. They are 73 for 1 in the third innings of the match, which means they are ahead by 178 now

11.54am - Big lead for UP In Ghaziabad, meanwhile, UP have been bowled out for 403, with Praveen Kumar not out on 51. Ishant Sharma's figures: 25-3-88-2

That means a 168-run lead, and with just five sessions to go, I don't think Delhi has enough time to make a comeback here. So, all Sehwag, Gambhir and Kohli can do here is play for a draw, and make sure they go away with at least one point. UP will want to win this outright. This is a great chance for them. Not sure Sehwag will be allowed to open after the time he has spent off the field. Oops, of course he will be allowed to open. This is an external injury, so he can bat wherever he wants.

Adds Sharda Ugra, "Whatever the big names of Delhi do from now in their Ranji opener, Uttar Pradesh have proved that they are far from daunted by them."

11.51am - Vidarbha will have to bat In Lahli, a last-wicket stand of three runs has taken Haryana to 150 for 9, which means Vidarbha will have to come out and bat, and make sure they don't lose a wicket if they want full seven points

11.50am - Bright news from Cuttack After inspections, it has been decided that play between Odisha and Tamil Nadu shall begin at 12.30pm. In the 31 overs possible so far, TN have scored 66 for 2

11.45am - Peekay kay pachas Praveen kumar has brought the Ghaziabad crowd to its feet with a half-century that has all but batted Delhi out of the game. He reaches there with a single off Pradeep Sangwan. And raises his bat over his head two-handed. At 402 for 8, that lead is nearing 200

11.40am - Tough fight in Lahli... ... To see if Haryana can save an innings defeat. They are 147 for 9, still needing three more to make Vidarbha bat again. Sandeep Singh has taken four for Vidarbha. Hayana will lose for sure

11.32am - Good scenes at Eden Defending champions Rajasthan may have fallen behind by 97 in first innings, but Pankaj Singh has removed Subhomoy Das with a ripsnorter just before lunch. However, the Rajasthan team stays in a huddle for about five minutes after lunch is called. Ashok Menaria does all the talking, and is pretty charged up, and so are rest of Rajasthan. In the second session they will try to make it as difficult as they can for Bengal to defend the three points they have gained through the first-innings lead.

It's lunch in Guwahati too, where Tripura are 15 for 2 in their second innings, needing another 290 to make Assam bat again

11.30am - an outright win defined Okay, for those new to Ranji terminology, an outright win is a win, but because Ranji Trophy matches are played over four days, it's hard to achieve results. So, even a first-innings lead, which gets you three points, is as good as a win. Thus we need a separate term for a proper win, which gets you six points. We call it an outright win. If you can make it extra special by winning by an innings or 10 wickets, you get seven points

11.25am - Mumbai keep pushing Update from Sid Talya at Wankhede: "Sanjay Bangar is gone, and it’s yesterday’s centurion Abhishek Nayar who has broken through. A full delivery and Bangar drove loosely at it, spooning an easy catch to Iqbal Abdulla at extra cover. He was well set, made 67 off 112 balls, hit six fours and three sixes. Railways are 141 for 3 in 50 overs. And just as a wicket has fallen, Zaheer Khan has been brought back on. Nitin Bhille is on 42, and was part of a 110-run stand with Bangar."

11.12am - More trouble for Haryana Haryana are now 132 for 8, still needing 18 to make Vidarbha chase some total. No 10-for for Umesh yadav, though, as the last two wickets have fallen to Shrikant Wagh

11.10am - Blow for Karnataka Baroda have all but ensured a first-innings lead as Robin Uthappa is dismissed for 82 to make it 193 for 5in reply to Baroda's 406

As we speak, defending champions Rajasthan have been bowled out for 161, conceding 97-run lead. Pats on the backs for Sourav Sarkar and Lokhi Shukla, who took four and three wickets. No wicket for Ashok Dinda, though.

However, now that the follow-on is saved, the chances of an outright result seems to have diminished. The light is the afternoon has been dodgy too so far in the match. Will be interesting to see if Bengal make a sporting declaration to go for six points

11am - Punjab openers miss record In Mohali, Huanuma Vihari has finally got Hyderabad a wicket, ending the opening partnership worth 293 runs. That was just eight short of the Punjab record, set by Navjot Sidhu and Vikram Rathour. Karan Goel has fallen for 129, but debutant Jiwanjot Singh is headed towards a double. As Punjab pile on the lead, Praguan Ojha has now bowled 25 overs for no wicket

10.50am - Raina reaches fifty Quietly taking back seat to Praveen Kumar's entertainment, Suresh Raina has reached fifty, a day before the team for England Tests is picked. UP's lead has reached 121. The crowd, though, is still chanting "Peekay, Peekay"

In Guwahati, Tripura have been asked to follow on as Assam push for seven points. They need 305 to make Assam bat again

Jharkhand, too, have sights set on a huge win. They have J&K down at 24 for 3 after securing a 182-run first-innings lead

Himachal are 301 for 4 against Kerala, stretching their lead to 72. Can we expect a declaration today?

No play so far in Anantapur where Services were 256 for 8 overnight, against Andhra

10.47am - All down to Uthappa and Binny In Vadodara, Karnataka haven't had a good start, losing Manish Pandey and Amit Verma. That pitch seems like a first-session wicket. Almost all the wickets have fallen early in the morning. Karnataka are 181 for 4 now, in response to Baroda's 406. Uthappa is 78 not out, and has just been joined by Stuart Binny

In Cuttack, no resumption yet. So far, only 31 overs have been possible, with Tamil Nadu reaching 66 for 2

10.45am - Vidarbha push continues Vidarbha have pushed Haryana further down to 126 for 6, still 24 short of making Vidarbha bat again. If Vidarbha win by an innings or by 10 wickets, they will walk away with seven sweet points. If Umesh Yadav gets three of the next four wickets, he will reach a 10-for

10.40am - Bangar reaches fifty Says Sid Talya: "The attack against Ramesh Powar continues; Bhille smashed him for a six over wide long-on and Bangar just stepped out to smack him for a one-bounce four to bring up his half-century. Oh, and just as I type, Bangar has heaved him over deep midwicket for another six. Bangar is now batting on 60 and Railways are 127 for 2. Bhille is going strong on 38."

10.35am - Entertainment in Ghaziabad UP have lost Ali Murtuza, and Praveen Kumar is out in the middle. With the bat in hand, PK is pure entertainment. Facing the second new ball, he hits a four over mid-off, then survives a huge lbw appeal against Nehra. Next ball, celebrations begin for a catch at the wicket, but he doesn't move. Nehra is outraged, Praveen makes sweeping leg side gestures, and shows the can-of-beans stance. Next ball he jumps into one from Nehra aimed at his solar plexus and gets a single. Crowd is approvingly shouting, "PeeKaaaayyy" "Peekkaaayyy". Now Ishant has got a short one to jab into PK's fingers. Some attention from support staff, and he is ready to bat again. "This has turned into a dangal in akhada," says Sharda Ugra. Only short balls being bowled at PK. Exchange of words between the two. And Raina could well be playing another match, in a cease-fire territory. UP 333 for 8, leading 98

10.30am - Record in sight for Punjab openers Karan Goel and Jiwanjot Singh's opening partnership against Hyderabad has reached 286. That has not only given Punjab the first-innings lead, but is just 16 short of breaking the record for the highest opening partnership for Punjab

Gujarat have taken a 105-run lead in Indore. That should seal the game in most situations, but the lead is not that big with two days to go. MP can still stage a comeback. And as I type, Gujarat have lost their first wicket for the score of 1

10.20am - Lahli closer to a result Last year's semi-finalists Haryana are 119 for 5, having lost two early wickets today. They still need 31 to make Vidarbha bat again.

Tripura will surely follow on. They are 142 for 9 against Assam, who scored 450. Abu Nechim still looking for his five-for

10.10am - More ball trouble In Ghaziabad, the second new ball is only two overs old, but the umpires have already called for a new box of balls. In Mumbai, the ball has been changed after 35.3 overs

It is, and it has been ridiculous, how we don't get proper balls for domestic cricket. At times they are so poorly dried, they go out of shape the first time they hit the boundary boards.

In other news from Ghaziabad, Suresh Raina, who came in to bat at No. 5, slightly surprisingly so, is now running out of partners. He is 31 off 91 balls, but UP are 313 for 7, a lead of 78 over Delhi. However, UP have lost their last six wickets for just 73 runs

10.05am - Rajasthan avoid follow-on An unbeaten seventh-wicket 39-run partnership between Madhur Khatri and Dishant Yagnik has taken Rajasthan past the follow-on mark, 108. It was received with a mild applause by the dressing room. This hurts the chances of an outright finish, although Bengal seem set for three first-innings points

10am - Yesterday in pictures At least two or three very good pictures from yesterday. Look at the crowd almost bringing down the fence here. Compare it to this, and you immediately know what kind of venues Ranji Trophy should be played at

And who said Ranji Trophy doesn't matter? Look at Abhishek Nayar's emotion upon reaching his hundred. He might not be the prettiest batsman to watch, but he puts a high price on his wicket. He famously scored the first runs for Mumbai after they were 5 for 0 in the 2006-07 semi-final, and Mumbai went on to win Ranji that season. Until yesterday it had been a while that he had scored a century for Mumbai, and when he got there he was thrilled.

And here, Sachin Tendulkar seems to have recovered from food poisoning, and is full of advice for the captain and lead bowler. Good to see all of them, who have plenty of Nike India shirts in their closet, in MCA gear. Many players can learn from that. But it doesn't look good the way Zaheer is holding onto his groin area. That generally doesn't precede good fitness news

9.50am - Sid Talya at Wankhede Zaheer kicked off the third morning, got some away movement, bowled a bouncer. Sanjay Bangar was aggressive against spin yesterday; he has started this morning with a lovely on-drive past mid-on off Ajit Agarkar. Railways 93 for 2

9.45am - Follow-on in Guwahatai? Assam have turned the screws on Tripura in Guwahati. Tripura are now 105 for 7. Abu Nechim has taken four. Tripura need 196 to avoid the follow-on. Rajasthan, meanwhile, have recovered a little to reach 100 for 6, and just nine runs from the follow-on mark

9.30am - Sehwag not to be seen Sharda Ugra doesn't have good news from Ghaziabad. Virender Sehwag hasn't taken field even today. He is nursing a finger injury. He has reportedly hurt the finger while going for a slip catch. Ringer finger on the right hand seems to have a cut. No stitches needed, so that is good

9.15am Sunday morning in Indian winter. Hope the kids in India are still eating parathas, sipping tea, watching Ramayan and following Ranji Trophy scores. Welcome

Action has begun in overcast Kolkata, where Sourav Sarkar, bowling big inswingers, has taken out two overnight batsmen to reduce defending champions Rajasthan to 71 for 6. Sarkar has four now. Despite all those interruptions from bad light, Bengal can now entertain hopes of an outright win. Rajasthan still need 38 to avoid the follow-on