Ranji Trophy 2012-13, Round IV, Day 3

5.10pm Another day of Ranji action comes to a close. We should see plenty of results in this round. Already three matches are completed: Punjab continuing to be the form team of the tournament, getting their third outright win of the season; Services have beaten Group C table-toppers Assam by ten wickets for their first victory of the season; and Andhra have also closed out their first success of the season with an innings win over J&K.

Delhi are in total control against Tamil Nadu, enforcing the follow-on after taking a 300-plus lead in the first innings. Traditional powerhouses Mumbai are struggling against Hyderabad, who have reached 423 for 3 in reply to Mumbai's 442. Karnataka are chasing 245 to get their first outright win of the season, and Railways are ahead in their battle with Gujarat.

Join us tomorrow at 9am to see how the final day unravels.Cheers!

5.00pm Stumps at Lahli. Haryana finish on 127/2, thanks to a half-century for Sunny Singh.They are ahead by 98 after conceding the first-innings lead to Baroda.

Jharkhand are 27 for 0 in their second innings, against Himachal. Rishi Dhawan's century has pushed Himachal to 442 for 7 dec, and are now leading by 175.

Stumps at Malappuram. Kerala are 249 for 6, Rohan Prem 49*. Long way to go to catch Goa, who made 512 for 8 in the first innings.

Stumps in Hyderabad, who are 423 for 3, only 19 behind Mumbai's first-innings score.

4.50pm Maharashtra opener Viraj Awate's superb debut continues as he makes an unbeaten 52 to lift his side to 84 for 3. He also made 126 out of Maharashtra's 282 in the first innings. This match seems headed for a dull finish, with the game decided on the first innings.

Stumps at Delhi. TN are 2/0 in their second innings.

Seven points for Services
Services' openers make sure neither gets out as they reach 27 for 0, completing a 10-wicket victory over table-toppers Assam. Services jump to 14 points, level with Andhra in second place. Assam still lead, with 14 points.

Kerala are 246 for 6, with Rohan Prem unbeaten on 47. Goa in charge are posting a massive 512.

Gujarat fighting hard against Railways. Manprit Juneja has hit a half-century to lead them to 287 for 6, which makes their lead over Railways 96. Outside chance of avoiding a defeat now.

Akshath Reddy missed double century
Mumbai's spinners striking towards the close of play. Akshath Reddy caught-and-bowled by Ramesh Powar for 196. Hyderabad are now 422 for 3. Both Reddy and Vihari fall in the space of five deliveries.

Mumbai finally have their first wicket of the day, as Hanuma Vihari is caught-and-bowled by left-arm spinner Ankeet Chavan for 191. The stand ends on 386. Akshath Reddy, though, is on course for his double-century, 196* as Hyderabad move to 422 for 2.

Sharda: "The scorer has just been told the extraordinary. Tamil Nadu will follow on. It's an identical situation to yesterday. About half an hour of bowling to do, and another day's play tomorrow. TN trail Delhi by 329. They lost their last six wickets for 39 runs after tea."

Our reader Srinidhi after KB Pawan's failure in the second innings against Odisha: "Karun Nair must replace K.B.Pawan for opening & Aditya Sagar for bowling slots should get a chance to play in Karnataka team this season."

TN are 226 all out, a long way behind Delhi's 555. Will Delhi look for the outright win? Or will the bat and kill off the game? Let's hope they make TN bat again.

Sharda: "Delhi are in the huddle. The umpires are walking off and the suspense is unbearable: will they follow on or wont they…. it appears most unlikely all logic taken into account. They are walking off applauding each other and why not."

4.25pm Half-centuries for both Ankit Sharma and Udit Birla takes MP to 118 for 3, taking the lead over Bengal to 161.

4.20pm Karnataka opener KB Pawan has fallen for 12, caught-behind off Alok Mangaraj. Karnataka are 29 for 1, chasing 245.

Another wicket for Delhi. L Balaji is bowled by Parvinder Awana after shouldering arms. TN are 221 for 8. Awana are 4 for 58.

Assam are bowled out for 170, with medium-pacer Shadab Nazar gets his second successive six-for. Services need only 23 to win. Seven points in their sights.

Andhra double their points tally this season with an innings victory over J&K, who are bowled out for 222. They needed to make 237 to make Andhra bat again. Andhra now move to 14 points, and are likely to end the round in second place. Only the top two from Group C make the quarter-finals.

Our reader Khem: "When I was in college in Mandi (HP), I had seen Rishi Dhawan working hard at nets in Paddal Stadium in Mandi. He was a 16 year boy at that time and was a pure Batsman at that time. Today that hard work is paying dividend to him."

Mumbai still looking for their first breakthrough of the day as Akshath Reddy and Hanuma Vihari pile it on. The partnership is now 344. Hanuma Vihari is 177*, Akshath Reddy 171*. Hyderabad 380 for 1.

3.50pm Delhi set for massive lead
Another Tamil Nadu wicket. Rangarajan leg before to Awana. TN 208-7. Follow-on mark is a long way off. Sharda: "We heard a double sound so there's a chance it could have been an inside-edge but the batsman was trapped frozen on his feet."

3.45pm MP are 90/3 against Bengal, and will look to bat as long as possible to ensure they get the three points for taking the first-innings lead.

Meanwhile, Odisha have been bowled out for 255, Vinay Kumar ends with 7 for 58. Karnataka's target is 245. They are now 12 for 0.

3.40pm Andhra one wicket from victory
J&K are now 220 for 9, still needing 17 runs to make Andhra bat again. Andhra all set for seven points.

Assam are 157 for 8, and have at least avoided the innings defeat against Services. Shadab Nazar has four wickets for Services.

Sharda: "DK rushed out, Vikas Mishra held it back and fired it in, the keeper didn't collect correctly but it hit his hands and tumbled onto the stumps. DK left reluctantly and the match ref could be heard complimenting the umpire over the walkie-talkie on a good decision. DK gone for 75. TN 204/6."

Rishi Dhawan dismissed for 128 by offspinner Sunny Gupta, Himachal 442 for 7.

Kerala are 202 for 5. Sachin Baby, the 22 year-old who was famously named after Sachin Tendulkar, is batting on 1. Goa in total command. For more namesakes like Sachin Baby, head here.

Odisha are 255 for 9, as Vinay has both Deepak Behera and Basant Mohanty caught behind. He now has 7 for 58. Odisha's lead is 244.

Mumbai's bowler's have no answer to Akshath Reddy and Hanuma Vihari.Both batsmen have now reached their 150s, Hyderabad are 335 for 1. Mumbai's 441 looks puny.

And Haryana's notoriously fragile batsmen have taken the score to 83 for 2 against Baroda. They are now ahead by 54, but they are headed for just one point from this match after conceding the first-innings lead.

3.00pm Assam are 115 for 7 in the second innings, still 30 or so away from wiping out the deficit against Services.

Sharda from the Kotla: "First ball after tea, Prasanna has slashed at Rajat Bhatia and is caught by Mohit Sharma at second slip. TN 187 for 5."

And here's a pic from Sharda.

Himachal in control against Jharkhand after Rishi Dhawan hit his second first-class hundred of the season. He also has 22 wickets already this season. Himachal are 400/6, the lead is 144.

2.50pm MP have lost their third wicket, they are 52 for 3 against Bengal. Lead is 95.

Gujarat are 221 for 5, still staring at defeat against Railways.

Haryana are 66/2 against Baroda, leading by 41 runs.

Odisha are 241 for 7, ahead by 230 against Karnataka. Vinay Kumar has a five-for.

Vidarbha bowled out for 266, giving away the lead to Maharashtra, who made 282 in the first innings.

Sharda: "The scoreboard has slowed to a trudge, just as spectators are about to fall alseep, DK is given a gift and produces a cover drive for the albums off Suyal. At tea, Tamil Nadu have batted through the session without losing a wicket, but it has been a slow afternoon: they are 187-4 making 77 in two hours of play in the 26 overs. Dinesh Karthik is: 72 (150b and 11x4) R Prasanna is 58 (122b 7x4)."

Odisha are now 218 for 7, an overall lead of 207.

Thriller in Nagpur. Vidarbha have just lost two wickets for one run to slip to 261 for 9, still 21 runs behind Maharashtra.

2.15pm Hyderabad 309 for 1 v Mumbai. Gujarat 214 for 5, after Venugopal Rao's fourth successive failure. Railways captain Sanjay Bangar has two wickets, and needs three more to complete a ten-for.

2.10pm Rishi Dhawan nearing his century, 89* at tea as Himachal progress to 377 for 6. He has already taken six wickets in the first innings, and will have a big role to play when Himachal push for victory on the final day against Jharkhand.

Sharda: "Prasanna strokes one through covers off Suyal and crosses his 50. Soon after, there is an outbreak of activity on the field; replacements bats have arrived, and extra water for the batsmen and following it up with a few for the fielders. It has been a few quiet overs from Bhatia and Suyal so maybe that is the TN dressing room sending in some advice."

2.05pm Assam are now 85/6, still more than 50 behind against Services. Another match nearing a result is J&K v Andhra, where J&K are 146 for 8, still 91 behind Andhra and heading for an innings defeat.

2.00pm Odisha are 205 for 6 as Vinay Kumar removes Samantaray for 86. Vinay now has four wickets.

More from Sharda at the Kotla: "Much shouting around the field from Delhi, "keep your energy, lads" to each other, from keeper to covers it is going around the ground one gee-upp-er at the time."

1.50pm Sharda Ugra: "It is truly a monday; there are no hecklers around. a vast flock of kites landed in between sessions but flew off quickly enough. obviously they realised that it is going to be lean pickings here - nothing tasty to be savoured at this stage. Halfway through second session of play, it is 158-4 in 53 overs; Prasanna on 39 and Dinesh Karthik on 62."

That's his seventh 50-plus score in his past eight first-class innings. But he's just been dismissed for 65, Gujarat are effectively 19 for 5 against Railways.

Hyderabad batsmen making merry, reaching 277 for 1, replying to Mumbai's 443. After the end of day one, Mumbai were at a dominant 325 for 2, now they might end up conceding the first-innings lead. Still, a way to go though for Hyderabad. Hanuma Vihari extends his maiden first-class century to 121*, and stand-in captain Akshath Reddy is now 124*.

Assam are 71 for 5 against Services, still trailing by 73 runs. They are likely to remain at the top of the table though as second-placed Jharkhand are also struggling against Himachal Pradesh.

Biplab Samantaray's unbeaten 66 and Subhrajit Sahoo's unbeaten 30 have taken Odisha to 176 for 5. Their stand is now worth 71 and could prove pivotal in what has been a low-scoring match. The lead is 165.

That gives Madhya Pradesh the first-innings lead and possibly three points, as there doesn't seem to be enough time left for an outright result in this match. Need a batting collapse or two for that to happen. Ishwar Pandey gets five wickets, he had six in the first innings in the previous match. Wicketkeeper Naman Ojha takes five catches in the innings.

1.00pm Punjab's awesome season continues
They have been jaw-droppingly brilliant so far, completing their third win in four matches. After thrashing Hyderabad and Bengal, they could only get three against Railways, but now have swept past second-paced Saurashtra, winning by eight wickets. Karan Goel's unbeaten 75 takes them home. They are 23 points now, next best is six so far. Even if they don't get a single point in the remaining four round, they should qualify for the quarter-finals.

Bengal's century-maker Abhishek Jhunjhunwala has been dismissed, caught-behind off Ishwar Pandey. They need almost 50 more to get the lead against MP.

12.40pm Kerala are 134 for 2, still a long way from Goa's 512. After a century in his previous match, Kerala opener Abhishek Hegde is now unbeaten on 71.

12.20pm Gujarat lose their third, and key man Parthiv Patel is in the middle. Gujarat 128 for 3 after 70 overs. Still 63 behind Railways.

Odisha 142 for 5 after 45 overs against Karnataka. Ahead by 131.

Vidarbha in trouble against Maharashtra. They are 186 for 7, after Maharashtra made 282.

Himachal are 301 for 6, comfortably pulling ahead against Jharkhand.

12.15pm Hyderabad's overnight batsmen have both reached centuries and are still unbeaten against Mumbai. Akshath Reddy 108*, Hanuma Vihari is 107*. Hyderabad 247 for 1. Mumbai made 443.

12.10pm Here's Sharda with her lunch-time update from the Kotla.

"The most eventful session of a largely humdrum game had Delhi getting three wickets, including two in the first three overs of the morning as Tamil Nadu went in at lunch on 110 for 4. Dinesh Karthik and left hander R Prasanna, the last specialist batting pair for Tamil Nadu, are still around, Karthik with an attacking 39 (76b, 7x4) and Prasanna on a positive 15.

This game is largely a battle for first-innings points and Delhi look more likely to win that one. Yet the most batting friendly session of the day's play is to follow. Delhi's seamers have been accurate all morning, trying to get the most of the conditions, a wicket that stops the ball a little and the assistance for swing all morning. Barring Baba Aparajit's wicket off the first ball this morning, the bowlers earned all their wickets, their lengths tight. The most valuable wicket was that of S Badrinath who nicked one behind off Sumit Narwal for 19. The hooting and cheering on the field was matched in volume by the Delhi contingent outside the boundary line.

The true and typical labours of the Delhi bowlers, however, begin after lunch."

Bengal fighting hard in Indore. Abhishek Jhujhunwala has completed his century, and Bengal are 288 for 8, still 54 behind MP.

Biplab Samantaray is unbeaten on 48 as Odisha move on to 142 for 5. Lead is 131 v Karnataka.

They are 69 for 2 at lunch, and need 50 more to complete the win over Saurashtra. Shock: Jiwanjot Singh has fallen for his first single-digit score in his first-class career. When they win, Punjab will move to 23 points. Next-placed team is on six points for now.

11.40am Baroda take lead
Briefly, Baroda looked in danger of missing out on a first-innings lead that their openers had put them comfortably on course for. They were 287 for 8, replying to Haryana's 295, but have now reached 304 for 8.

Gujarat's openers fall after a long association. Both Smit Patel and Samit Gohel fall soon after reaching their half-centuries. Gujarat 116 for 2. They have batted 66 overs already, but the trouble with such a slow run-rate is that they are yet to wipe out the first-innings deficit against Railways. And with more than five sessions remaining in the game, they can't just think of batting out time.

Odisha lose their fifth. They are now 112 for 5: four batsmen bowled in the innings, and one lbw so far. They lead by 101 now.

Sharda from the Kotla: "Run-machine S Badrinath is gone, caught-behind looking to drive Sumit Narwal. TN 79 for 4, Badrinath falls for 19. That follow-on target looks far, far away."

11.15am Sharda reports: "Huge lbw appeal against Badri against Narwal, but he was well forward and perhaps from where we are sitting was struck outside the line of off stump. TN are 79/3."

Bengal are 268 for 8, with Abhishek Jhunjhunwala unbeaten on 94. Keeping him company is Veer Pratap Singh, unbeaten on 13. MP made 34 in their first innings; can Bengal battle to a first-innings lead?

J&K have slid to 55 for 4 in the second innings, still 182 runs behind Andhra.

10.55am Himachal have taken the first-innings lead against Jharkhand, they are now 278 for 5, 42 runs ahead.

Kerala have inched ahead to 61 for 1, replying to Goa's 512 for 8 dec.

Assam are 21 for 1 after Services finished on 326, with Assam wicketkeeper Rajdeep Das took five catches.

10.45am Maharashtra strike early on the third day. Vidharba slip to 155 for 5, Hemang Badani holding things together with an unbeaten 39.

10.35am Haryana fighting back against Baroda, who have slipped from 189 for 0 to 250 for 5. Haryana captain and legspinner Amit Mishra has his fourth, and opener Saurabh Wakaskar has been dismissed for his overnight score of 100.

Karnataka captain Vinay Kumar has taken his third wicket, his third bowled of the innings, and Odisha are 76 for 4 in Bangalore.

10.20am Bengal have slipped to 242 for 8, leaving Madhya Pradesh sniffing a sizeable first-innings lead.

Hyderabad are making steady progress, both overnight batsmen, Akshath Reddy and Hanuma Vihari, have moved into their 70s. They are 175 for 1.

Gujarat's openers have now batted longer than Gujarat did in the entire first innnings. The run-rate won't excite, but they have reached 103 for 0 in 53 overs against Railways.

Siddarth Kaul has taken six wickets as Saurashtra are bowled out for 233. Punjab's target is 119. Can they get all seven points?

And at the Kotla, Sharda says: "Parvinder Awana removes Arun Karthik, leg before to a ball coming in; Arun Karthik had been troubled by Awana in his first over; Tamil Nadu are now 46-3. There is actually follow-on target here, 150 short of the Delhi total: 405 runs."

10.00am Welcome to day three of the fourth round of the Ranji Trophy. Sharda Ugra has news from the Kotla: "Tamil Nadu have lost Baba Aparajith on the first ball of the morning, poor shot, extravagant cut caught at 2nd slip off the bowling of Pavan Suyal In the same over Badri arrived and two balls later played a lavish square drive off Suyal. For all that the bowlers may have wished for cloud cover and assistance for swing, the sun is at its brightest today."