Ranji Trophy 2012-13, Round III, Day 2

4.55pm Stumps at Dharamsala. Paras Dogra has added another Ranji century to take Himachal to 224 for 5, still a long way behind Andhra's 372.

In Lahli, Abhimanyu Kohd has made a half-century to take Haryana to 165 for 5, which gives them a lead of 12 runs after their debacle in the first innings against Odisha.

Half-centuries from Dheeraj Jadhav and Tarjinder Singh have helped Assam reach 161 for 4, in reply to Kerala's 264.

Thanks to everyone for tuning in today, and a round of applause for the inputs through the day from Amol Karhadkar and Amit Shetty. Till tomorrow, this is Siddarth Ravindran signing out. Catch you Monday morning.

4.50pm Stumps update from Amol: "At stumps, Rajasthan are 306 for 6, 50 runs ahead of MP's first innings total of 256. Dishant Yagnik and Madhur Khatri batting on 21 and 2, respectively. Ishwar Pandey is MP's star of the day, with figures of 4 for 65."

Double-failure for Raina: He's not quite making his Test case here, after making only 14 in the first innings, he falls for 8 this time, caught-and-bowled by K Gowtham. UP 53 for 3.

Stumps at Cuttack. Punjab have taken the first-innings lead, but their hero of the day, Uday Kaul will have to wait to reach his hundred. At stumps, he is 96*. Punjab 230 for 5, ahead by 25.

4.45pm Amol from Jaipur: "Parida's heroic innings is finally over as Ishwar Pandey traps him in front of the wickets in the penultimate over of the day. Parida scored 108, Rajasthan 304 for 5."

First-innings lead for Tamil Nadu L Balaji takes four, and Malolan Rangarajan takes four as well as Maharashtra fold for 233, giving TN a lead of 43.

4.40pm It's tense in Chennai. Both Motwani and Mundhe have been dismissed, Maharashtra are 230 for 8, 46 behind Tamil Nadu's score.

Stumps at Eden Gardens. Bengal are in charge there thanks to Manoj Tiwary's century. Bengal end the day on 220 for 4, needing only 41 more to overhaulGujarat's total.

It's stumps at Agartala. After Yashpal Singh's double-century pushed Services to 563 for 4, Tripura's openers have batted out 24 overs to end the day on 53 for 0.

4.35pm Ravindra Jadeja wrecks havoc Jadeja makes amends for his low score with the bat by taking six wickets to bowl out Hyderabad for 186 and give Saurashtra a 74-run lead.

It's stumps at Delhi. Here's Amit's last update for the day: "Baroda have the upper-hand They are 525/7 now. Ketan Panchal is on 72 and Gagandeep Singh is on 69, they have added 126 and Delhi have endured another tough day."

4.20 pm Stumps in Jamshedpur. Goa are 24 for 1, in reply to Jharkhand's 360.

4.15pm First-innings lead for Punjab Superb effort from Uday Kaul and Amitoze Singh, staying cool after three early wickets. In-form opener Jiwanjot Singh contributed with 44, before Kaul and Amitoze added 109 in an unbroken stand to overhaul Railways' score.

Saurashtra closing in on a first-innings lead as Ravindra Jadeja gets his fourth wicket, and Hyderabad are down to 158 for 8.

Amol in Jaipur: "Parida pushes Satyam Choudhary to mid-off, runs a single, takes his helmet off and raises his bat after scoring a flawless century. Rajasthan 287 for 5. Parida 100 169b, 12x4, 1x6."

Amit in Delhi: "Delhi's bowling has looked pedestrian save Parvinder Awana. Left-arm spinner Manan Sharma has been the weak link. The ball has been keeping low."

4.10pm Century for Manoj Tiwary It's his 17th hundred in first-class cricket, and the conversion rate is up there: 17 100s/ 12 50s. Bengal have progressed to 220 for 4, just 40 away from levelling the score against Gujarat.

Amol from Jaipur: "Udit Birla, fielding on the boundary, has a word of advice from team-mate Anand Singh's family members who have been watching the match since the first ball. "Tum bhi daalo na thoda (Why don't you also roll your arm over!)"

And Amit informs me Baroda have now crossed 500.

4.00pm Amit: "Gagandeep hits Bhatia to cow corner to complete 50, another partnership building up for Baroda."

3.55pm Maharashtra are now within 73 of Tamil Nadu's first-innings score. About an hour ago, Tamil Nadu were favourites to take that lead, but Rohit Motwani and Shrikant Mundhe have added 94 to close in on TN's total.

First-innings lead for Rajasthan. Amol: "Two byes help Rajasthan overhaul MP's first innings total of 256. And with two more days to go, the team that has always preferred to play safe rather going for outright victories over the last two years has loads of time to change that impression."

3.45pm Wriddhiman Saha has been dismissed at the Eden Gardens for 27, Manoj Tiwary still going strong, at 84* with Bengal at 198 for 4.

Amol from Jaipur: "Rashmi Parida danced down the wicket and hits Rameez Khan over long-off. That's the first six of the match. Parida reaches 80, while Rajasthan are four runs away from earning the vital first-innings lead against Madhya Pradesh."

Sixes everywhere. Here's Anil: "Ketan Panchal hits a straight six, and completes his 50 as Baroda reach 480 for 7."

3.40pm This from Amit in Delhi. "Gangadeep Singh playing a cameo as Baroda move towards 500. He has just hit a six and moved on to 34."

Haryana continue to fight in Lahli: Abhimanyu Khod and Sachin Rana have taken Haryana to 129 for 4, just 24 away from wiping out the deficit against Odisha.

3.30pm In Uppal, Nayan Doshi has struck again, and Hyderabad have slipped to 149 for 7. Saurashtra made 260.

In Cuttack, Uday Kaul is guiding Punjab towards a first-innings lead against Railways who made 205. Kaul is unbeaten on 70, and Amitoze Singh is 42* and Punjab are only 25 behind now.

3.20pm In Chennai, Rohit Motwani and Shrikant Mundhe are battling hard as Maharashtra search for the first-innings lead against Tamil Nadu. The pair have added 72 for the seventh wicket, but Maharashtra are still 95 behind.

At Eden Gardens, Manoj Tiwary is cruising towards a century. Now 80* as Bengal reach 188 for 3 against Gujarat.

3.15pm Tripura aren't off to a fast start in reply to Services 563 for 4. Their opener Samrat Singha is now 1 off 39 deliveries (strike-rate 2.56).

3.10pm Amol in Jaipur has unearthed this: "The IPL is almost five months away but preparations have already begun in Jaipur, it seems. The ball boys at the LK Saini Stadium have been submitting the requisite documents for being a part of the IPL-6."

And just to show he's keeping an eye on the game as well, he sends this: "What a catch! Puneet Yadav's impressive knock comes to an end, thanks to Anand Singh's sharp catch at forward short leg off offie Jalaj Saxena. Rajasthan 222 for 5."

3.05pm In Dharamsala, Himachal have reached 136 for 3, with Paras Dogra doing much of the scoring. Dogra has been a mainstay of the Himachal batting for a while now: he's unbeaten on 74 against Andhra.

2.55pm In Meerut, Karnataka have been bowled out for 181, which means UP have a vital 102-run first-innings lead. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the star for UP, taking 5 for 36. The last time he took a five-for in first-class cricket was in December 2011. The opponents? Karnataka again.

2.50pm Assam are 73 for 4, replying to Kerala's 264. Opener Dheeraj Jadhav remains unbeaten on 37.

2.40pm Amit sends in the tea-time update from Delhi: "Baroda are 435/7, Ketan Panchal is batting on 43."

And this just in from Amol from Jaipur: "Puneet Yadav, coming in for injured Hrishikesh Kanitkar, has raced to 30 off 25 balls as Rajasthan go in to tea break at 212 for 4 off. Rashmi Parida is looking solid as ever, batting on 46 at the other end."

Hyderabad in trouble at Uppal. Nayan Doshi, the son of former India left-arm spinner Dilip, has struck, removing Ibrahim Khaleel for 15. Hyderabad 142 for 6 against Saurashtra.

2.35pm In Meerut, UP are closing in on a first-innings lead; they are two wickets away from bowling out Karnataka. CM Gautam is still in the middle on 20, but Karnataka are 172 for 8, well short of UP's 283. If it wasn't obvious how good Kaif's century was yesterday, the struggle of Karnataka's batsmen gives it more sheen. Oh, and Karnataka have just lost their ninth: Bhuvneshwar Kumar gets his fourth, and KP Appanna is gone for a duck.

2.30pm Amol sends this from Jaipur: "Bist's fluent knock has come to an end. He tried to play a leg glance off Anand Rajan, seemed to have missed it but there was a sound before Naman Ojha caught the ball. A loud appeal followed and just when the MP players seemed to be giving up on their appeal, umpire Amiesh Saheba raised his finger. He seemed to have taken longer than Steve Bucknor to adjudge a batsman out. No wonder then that a disappointed Bist stood his ground longer than what it took Saheba to make the decision. Bist gone for 85, Rajasthan 172 for 4."

2.15pm Tea time in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand have been finally bowled out for 360, which they took five sessions to score. Sourav Bandekar was the most successful of the Goa bowlers, taking 4 for 76.

At Eden Gardens, Manoj Tiwary has moved on to 60, and Bengal are 162 for 3, in prime position to take the first-innings lead against Gujarat, who made 260.

In Cuttack, Uday Kaul has completed his half-century. He is yet to be dismissed this Ranji season - previous scores are 54* and 165*. Punjab 138 for 4 against Railways.

2.10pm The pain is over for Tripura's bowlers. Services have declared at 563 for 4, with Yashpal Singh going on to his highest first-class score of 250*, and Rajat Paliwal gets his maiden first-class century. Soon after both batsmen reached their milestones, Services ended their innings.

2.00pm At Lahli, Haryana's batting continues to show some backbone, as the side reaches 84 for 3 against Odisha.

1.50pm Jharkhand are 341 for 8 as they continue to crawl along against Goa. The run-rate is 2.31, and the last wicket is Shankar Rao, who consumed 45 deliveries for his six.

1.45pm Two wickets in two overs for the delightfully named Perumparambath Antaf has left Assam at 40 for 3 against Kerala.

Over in Meerut, a double-strike has put UP on top in their match against Karnataka. Both Manish Pandey and Amit Verma reached their half-centuries but were dismissed soon after. Karnataka still have two decent batsmen in the middle, Stuart Binny and CM Gautam, but UP look poised for first-innings points at least. Karnataka 127 for 5.

1.40pm Amol from Jaipur: "Robin Bist seems to have finally gotten into his groove. After failing to fire in the first two games, last season's highest run-getter is marching towards his hundred. He first finds the gap between covers and mid-on for a boundary off left-arm spinner Rameez Khan and the next ball is dispatched against the spin between midwicket and mid-on for the same result. Rajasthan 153 for 3. Bist 74, Parida 29."

Here's Amit: "Baroda reach 400, they have lost seven wickets. Rajat Bhatia gets his third wicket removing Murtuza Vahora with a ball that kept low. Another 50 runs and it will be a big test for Shikhar Dhawan and Mithun Manhas. If Delhi wants 3 points, these two will have to do bulk of the job."

1.30pm Jiwanjot Singh has finally been dismissed below 150 for the first time in his first-class career. He has fallen for 44, and Punjab are now 97 for 4 against Railways.

In Chennai, Tamil Nadu are sensing a first-innings lead after getting the wicket of Kedhar Jadhav. Dinesh Karthik has taken two catches and effected two stumpings already this innings. Maharashtra are 111 for 6.

1.25pm At Eden Gardens, Subhomoy Das has fallen for 75, but Manoj Tiwary is guiding Bengal with an unbeaten 38. Bengal 130 for 3.

Hyderabad's weak link was expected to be their bowling, but their batting is crumbling against Saurashtra. They were 75 for 1 at lunch, but have now tumbled to 102 for 5. Ravindra Jadeja may have failed with the bat, but he's taken three with the ball now.

1.20pm The latest from Amit in Delhi: "Awana's sincerity is rewarded again. He bowls a bouncer and Devdhar goes for a hook shot that Suyal holds on near the fine-leg boundary. You have to feel for Awana. While the likes of Umesh, Basant getting lot of wickets in seamer-friendly conditions, the Harolla Express' is made to toil on unresponsive pitches."

1.15pm Take a bow Yashpal Singh, another double-century for Services. He's unbeaten on 211 now against Tripura. Yashpal's highest score in first-class cricket also against Tripura - ten years ago he made 240 against them.

1.00pm Update from Amit in Delhi: "Kedar Devdhar and Ketan Panchal are at the crease, the score has moved to 365/5. It was a fantastic innings earlier today from Rayudu, who was at ease on a pitch that was not conducive to stroke-making."

Amit adds: "The left-handed Panchal is providing some entertainment, a straight six off Manan Sharma, the first of the match. Next ball he rocks back and punches through the cover region."

Saurashtra have struck twice after lunch to have Hyderabad at 87 for 3. Both Akshath Reddy and Hanuma Vihari have fallen soon after the break.

12.50pm Tamil Nadu have struck again, and Maharashtra are now 94 for 5. Atitkar has just been dismissed for 36; much depends on Kedar Jadhav.

In Meerut, Manish Pandey and Amit Verma have put together 62-run stand as Karnataka look to fight back after a top-order failure against UP. Karnataka now 90 for 3.

12.30pm Over at Eden Gardens, Subhomoy Das has completed his half-century, and Manoj Tiwary is unbeaten on 24. Bengal have moved on to 88 for 2.

In Agartala, more pain for Tripura. Yashpal Singh closing in on the first double-century of the round, and Rajat Paliwal is tearing towards his hundred. Services 483 for 4.

Noon Lunch at most venues now.

Amol Karhadkar from Jaipur: "Robin Bist flicks the first ball of the 37th over for a single to deep square leg and raises his maiden fifty of the Ranji season. Parida then survives the rest of the over as Rajasthan go in to lunch at 114 for 2."

Amit in Delhi says at lunch Baroda are 351 for 5 against Delhi.

At the Uppal Stadium, Hyderabad are 75 for 1 at lunch, having lost their captain Ravi Teja. They are replying to Saurashtra's 259, and have Akshath Reddy unbeaten on 45.

In Lahli, Haryana are doing a better job in their second innings, after capsizing to 66 all out in the first. They are 38 for 2 after 14 overs against Odisha who were bowled out for 219, thanks to Mohit Sharma's five-for.

In Meerut, which had a solid crowd of about 3000 people yesterday, Karnataka are 65 for 3 after 24 overs against Uttar Pradesh.

In Dharamshala, Aakash Chopra has been dismissed lbw for 15, as Himachal reach 52 for 2 at lunch v Andhra.

In Chennai, Tamil Nadu have reduced Maharashtra to 79 for 4, Sangram Atitkar (29*) and Kedhar Jadhav (28*) are in the middle.

Assam 17 for 1 at lunch against Kerala, who finished on 264.

11.50am Robin Uthappa has been dismissed lbw for 12, and Karnataka are now 54 for 3 against UP.

11.45am Delhi's morning just got better. Amit: "Rayudu is finally gone, a beauty from Parvinder Awana that held its line cleans him up."

Assam currently have three batsmen on 0 off three balls: Pallav Das has been caught-behind for a duck, and the other two batsmen are yet to score. Assam 0 for 1, against Kerala.

Our reader Senthil: "It's refreshing to see so many bowler friends wickets for this round as last round full of Batsman friendly. I expect so many results much more then we got it from the previous 2 rounds put together. Except Delhi pitch, rest of the Group A and B matches should produce an Out right result. I hope so. This is a delight for Domestic match followers."

Amol Karhadkar: "Rashmi Parida plays an exquisite offdrive off Ishwar Pandey to make his presence felt at the crease. Rajasthan 99 for 2."

11.30am Lunch at the Test in Ahmedabad, and lunch in the four matches being held in the eastern parts of India as well.

At Eden Gardens, Bengal are 63 for 2 against Gujarat, with Manoj Tiwary unbeaten on 20 off 42 deliveries. Subhomoy Das is with him on 35*.

In Jamshedpur, Goa have had a good morning session, taking four wickets to push Jharkhand to 302 for 6, after Jharkhand had begun the day on 222 for 2.

In Cuttack, Punjab reach lunch at 47 for 3 against Railways in 25 overs. Jiwanjot is still there, batting on 18, with Uday Kaul on 10. Run-making hasn't been easy there: Hardik Rathod has 7-3-6-1 and Sanjay Bangar has 8-4-9-0.

In Agartala, the batsmen continue to dominate: Yashpal Singh is unbeaten on 169, and Rajat Paliwal has slammed a half-century off 51 deliveries. Services are at a comfortable 427 for 4 against Tripura.

11.20am Amit's latest from Delhi: "Finally something to cheer for Delhi, Sumit Narwal castles Abhimanyu Chauhan, who has scored 113. He shared a 200-plus partnership with Rayudu. Baroda 322 for 4."

And a wicket in Jaipur as well. Amol has this: "Ishwar Pandey gives MP the much-needed breakthrough as captain Vineet Saxena, reputed for his marathon innings in last year's final against Tamil Nadu, is trapped in fron of the wickets. Saxena scored 32, Rajasthan 83 for 2."

Two minutes later Amol pings: "And Pandey makes it two in a row. Left-hander Ashok Menaria opens his account with a flick off his pads to the square leg boundary but the next ball is outside off and Menaria pokes at it to edge it to Naman Ojha, the keeper. Rajasthan 87 for 3."

11.15am In Chennai, Balaji has got three wickets as Maharashtra slip to 46 for 4. In their previous match, Maharashtra lost their fourth wicket at 418, and went on to make 764 for 6 dec. The triple-centurion from that game, Kedhar Jadhav, is still in the middle, though. L Balaji's figures are: 9-1-13-3.

11.10am Jiwanjot Singh, with handy career average of 185.50 after two matches, is not out yet, but Punjab have lost three quick wickets: Mayank Sidhana, Karan Goel and their captain Mandeep Singh (who at 20 years is among the youngest captains on the Ranji circuit). Punjab 44 for 3 against Railways.

11.05am Manoj Tiwary is in the middle as Bengal's openers have fallen early. Parthasarathi Bhattacharya is lbw for 3, and Sreevats Goswami has been caught behind for 2. Bengal are 39 for 2 against Gujarat.

11.00am Here's the latest from Amol in Jaipur: "Sunday morning hasn't seemed to have attracted the locals to watch the domestic champions in action. And you can't blame them since most of the spectators will have to sit in the Jaipur sun. Saxena and Bist, meanwhile, have helped Rajasthan coast along to 68 for 1."

Also Ashish Nehra has been off the field since the 11th over yesterday, due to a hamstring problem, prompting Amit to wonder who is more injury-prone: Nehra or Munaf Patel.

10.55am Kerala have moved along to 257 for 7, after beginning the day on 211 for 5 against Assam.

10.45am Andhra were 331 for 7 overnight, but have been bowled out for 372. Five wickets for Himachal Pradesh bowler Vikramjeet Malik, whose bowling average of 23.74 after 59 matches shows how useful he has been for Himachal over the years.

In Agartala, Tripura have finally struck, ending a 291-run stand between Anshul Gupta and Yashpal Singh. Gupta has been bowled for 147, but Yashpal is calmly steering Services towards 400. Yashpal is now 159*.

10.40am The game in Chennai continues to mirror the one in Meerut. Maharashtra have also lost two early wickets, with both openers falling to Tamil Nadu captain L Balaji. He now has figures of 6-1-6-2.

10.35am Karnataka have lost two early wickets against UP: Opener KB Pawan is caught-behind for a duck, and G Satish - Karnataka's hero with a double-century in the previous match against Tamil Nadu - has also nicked to the keeper. Karnataka 12 for 2.

10.30am The wickets continued to tumble in Lahli. After Haryana were rolled over for 66, Odisha are now 211 for 9, having begun the day on 177 for 6. Mohit Sharma completes his five-for, the first of his first-class career.

10.25am And over in Hyderabad, Saurashtra who were 251 for 7 overnight, have ended their innings on 260 all out. A Ashish Reddy's debut continues to get sweeter, he has 6 for 56. The little-known Reddy played nine matches for Deccan Chargers in the 2012 IPL.

The other debutant bowler who had a great day yesterday was Karnataka's HS Sharath. Here's a story on him in the Indian Express, which talks of his days as a kabaddi player and how he switched over to cricket.

10.15am At Eden Gardens, Gujarat have been bowled out for 260. They were 230 for 6 overnight. Quick bowler Sourav Sarkar who went wicketless against Punjab in the previous round, finishes with four wickets.

10.10am More from Amol: "And there goes a chance abegging. A short one from Ishwar Pandey rises around Robin Bist's chest height and an edge off his horizontal bat flies towards gully but Udit Birla fails to latch on to it. Bist on 13, Rajasthan 40 for 1."

10.05am Amol Karhadkar says good morning from Jaipur. "Here we go for the day Vineet Saxena and Robin Bist have started getting their act together. A hook off Ishwar Pandey for a brace and Saxena's flicking Anand Rajan to square leg boundary have been standout strokes so far. And the last ball of the same over is driven straight down the ground. Rajasthan 39 for 1." They are replying to Madhya Pradesh's 256.

Amol also found the time to chat with his namesake Amol Muzumdar yesterday, after Muzumdar reclaimed his record of being the highest Ranji run-getter. Here's his story.

10.00am Yesterday, the Baroda captain Ambati Rayudu has criticised the track at the Kotla, saying it was not a good Ranji wicket and that the ball wasn't coming on to the bat. Whatever the nature of the pitch, it hasn't stopped Rayudu from reaching his century. Here's Amit's update: "And the stand-in captain completes his century, with a superb cover drive off Sumit Narwal. Raydu takes off his helmet and calmly acknowledges the applause of his team-mates, no over-the-top celebrations for him."

Baroda are now 290 for 3, Rayudu 103*, Chauhan 100*.

The old problem of needing to change the ball early in the Ranji Trophy crops up again. Delhi captain Shikar Dhawan complains to the umpire, and after just 11 overs, the ball has been replaced.

9.55am It's race between Abhimanyu Chauhan and Ambati Rayudu to reach their centuries in Delhi. Chauhan is ahead now, on 99.

And just as I type that Amit informs me Chauhan has reached his hundred, his second in two matches. "Abhimanyu Chauhan pushes it towards mid-on for a single, gets a standing ovation from his team-mates in the dressing-room, that's his second century on the trot. His on-drive and upright stance will remind you of Wasim Jaffer. Unless Baroda batsmen make silly mistakes, Delhi's bowlers should brace for a long day."

9.45am Both Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh had finished the first day of their respective matches at 273 for 9. Both teams have been bowled out. UP are 275 all out, Tamil Nadu added one more than that, closing on 276. Here's a pic from yesterday's action in Chennai:

9.40am And the first update from Amit Shetty in Delhi: "Rayudu closing in on his century, he begins the day with a straight drive off Pawan Suyal. He's now 89*, and Baroda are 322 for 3."

9.25am Wickets at the Eden Gardens as well. Bengal have struck twice early to reduce Gujarat to 240 for 8. Both overnight batsmen, Manprit Juneja and Rakesh Dhruv, miss out on half-centuries.

Bowlers dominating the mornings in all the games in the eastern part of the country. Jharkhand have also lost both overnight batsmen early, with Ishank Jaggi and Saurabh Tiwary both dismissed - Tiwary was run out for 35, while Jaggi fell for 57. Jharkhand are 236 for 4 against Goa.

No wickets in the only other game to start early: Ansuhl Gupta and Yashpal Singh continue to punish the Tripura bowling. Services are 322 for 3.

9.15am Four matches have begun at 9am today. Railways, who were 193 for 7 overnight, have been bowled out for 205 by table-toppers Punjab. Quick bowler Sandeep Sharma, who took four wickets for India U-19 in the World Cup final against Australia, finishes with four wickets today as well. Not too long to wait now to see Jiwanjot Singh can continue the outstanding start to his Ranji career.

9.00am Covering one game at a time is passe, tracking 12 games at a time is where it's at. Welcome to our coverage of day 2 of the third round of the Ranji Trophy.

Our reader Binu comments: "Some new pace bowlers are coming up Rituraj Singh, Sharath, Shami Ahmed, Rishi Dhawan, Harshal Patel (where is he in this season)." Think Harshal is struggling with injury so far this season.