Ranji Trophy 2012-13, Round VI, Day 2

"It’s stumps in Bangalore with Karnataka ending on 136 for no loss, extending their lead to 70. Quite a difference from the first four sessions of this game, where we got used to seeing a procession of wickets. Both batsmen were let off. Not been Delhi’s evening. They will have to start all over tomorrow. Uthappa 77* (113b) 12 fours, KL Rahul 53 (74b) Nine fours."

"Rahane and Pawar see off the last half an hour as Mumbai end the day at 69 for 1."

"Fifty for KL Rahul. Gets there with a controlled cut over the slips off Awana. Both openers have half-centuries now. Rahul was dropped on 44 by the keeper. How much will that cost Delhi?"

"A single towards mid-on brings up Uthappa’s 50, off 84 balls. Karnataka 95 for no loss. The best partnership of the match. Delhi waiting for mistakes."

"Even before Ajinkya Rahane has opened his account, Sandeep Sharma breaks through his defence and the leg stump goes for a walk. But hang on, IT"S A NO-BALL!"

"Aditya Tare, who had taken on Sandeep Sharma - the season's highest wicket-taker - by driving him for two boundaries in an over, falls to Manpreet Gony. It rose more than Tare expected and he top-edged it to offer the bowler a simple return catch. Mumbai 32 for 1. And in walks Ajinkya Rahane, who along with Ravindra Jadeja, is in contention for the last batsman's slot for the Nagpur Test after Yuvraj Singh's axing! But more than eyeing the Test cap, Rahane has a big task of helping Mumbai gape out a hole by surpassing Mt 580"

"In what would have been the last over before the postponed tea break, a frustrated Mumbai finally get the last wicket. And guess who the bowler is? Ramesh Powar! Punjab 580 all out."

"At tea Karnataka are 38 for no loss. Uthappa on 24 and Rahul on 14. Trail by 28 runs. Confident start by the opening pair. They have batted positively, just like their coach had stressed on the previous day."

"Harbhajan falls. After connecting over off Chavan over long-off earlier, Bhajji tries to do it again, but holes out to Rahane. Harbhajan scored 22, Punjab 542 for 9."

the dropping of zaheer is a statement. a bit surprised by the retention of ishant. and maybe jadeja is seen as a like for like for yuvraj

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) December 9, 2012

And Praful Waghela, fielding for injured Abhishek Nayar, has effected a run out with a brilliant piece of fielding. Harbhajan cuts Chavan through point and the ball was racing to the boundary. Waghela first slides and saves the four and then gets up and returns the ball to the non-striker's end where Sharma finds himself stranded in the middle of the crease after Harbhajan denied him a third run. Punjab 514 for 7

"Awana’s fireworks come to an end on 74. Delhi are bowled out for 258 with a lead of 66. Vinay breaks what was turning into a frustrating stand from Karnataka’s point of view. Awana gets a short one and gloves it to the keeper Gautam."

"I don’t know if the 12th man or a pigeon passed on the good news to Awana, but he’s celebrated his call-up to the Test side for Nagpur with a fifty! He’s batting on 53 off 50 balls. Did we forget to mention the 5 wickets he took yesterday? Congratulations PA!"

"And Mandeep's onslaught is finally over. He shoulders one from Ankeet Chavan bowled over the wicket and the ball crashes into the off stump. Punjab 512 for 6. Mandeep 211 (306b, 437m, 32x4, 1x6). In walks Harbhajan Singh, moments after being dropped from the Test squad."

"And Mandeep was almost dismissed short of a deserving landmark. He tries to drive Kulkarni Agarkar and the edge flies into the slips. But Kaustubh Pawar's diving attempt at widish second sleep goes in vain and Mandeep runs a couple to complete his maiden first-class double ton. He has reached the milestone in 269 balls, hitting 30 fours and a six. Punjab 497 for 5."

"Appanna replaces Binny from the North End and immediately takes two wickets. Gautam takes his fourth catch to get rid of Narwal. Appanna fires it flat and Nehra loses his off stump. Two for the over and believe it or not a spinner is taking a wicket for the first time in this match. Narwal c Gautam b Appanna 29 (47b) FOW 206 for 8 in 51.2 ov. Partnership 62 runs Ashish Nehra b Appanna 0 (2b) FOW 208 for 9 in 51.4". Soon after, he times yet another reverse sweep off Chavan and the ball races to point boundary to help Punjab surpass 500

"Mandeep nudges a single to square leg and hesitantly raises his bat, thanks to the scoreboard displaying his score as 200. But hang on, he is on 199. And once the official scorer has passed on the message to the scoreboard operator, his individual score is changed to 199. Hope he's not dismissed right now Amidst all this confusion, southpaw Bipul Sharma, who played 20 dots after arriving at the crease, opens his account with an emphatic six over mid-wicket off Chavan."

"The scorers in the Wankhede press box - Uday Gharat and Deepak Joshi - have been revelling in Kishore Kumar melodies while working ever since the days Mumbai used to dominate domestic cricket. Perhaps, it's time for them to switch to Punjabi rap!"

"Sumit Narwal thrashes a short ball over extra cover and Delhi are now into the lead. It also brings up the run-a-ball 50 stand with Awana. Delhi cross one psychological barrier."

"Mandeep equals his personal best of 193 with an upper cut off Dhawal Kulkarni that raced to the third man boundary. And Amitoze enters into the nineties with a six off Ankeet Chavan over long-on."

"The second session starts off with Dhawal Kulkarni trying to test Mandeep Singh's strength by placing a deep square leg and deep fine leg. But the Punjab youngster bisects both of them twice in succession for a boundary. And then he reverse sweeps Ankeet Chavan, bowling over the wicket, for successive boundaries. He has raced to 187 and on course of getting his maiden double ton. Amitoze is on 84. Punjab 470 for 4."