Sriram hits double-century in drawn Mohali encounter

As Tamil Nadu continued to bat well into the last day of their Ranji Trophy tie against Punjab at Mohali, Sridharan Sriram struck a double-century and helped his side to a first-innings total of 509 for nine declared.

Sriram's 267 came off 362 balls and included 27 fours, and it was the bulwark of a 268-run partnership with number nine batsman MR Shrinivas. The latter made a stolid 93 off 275 balls, with 10 fours, and the pair batted for 52 overs of the final day's play.

Both batsmen fell with the score on 509, and Tamil Nadu skipper S Suresh declared, but that left Punjab only four overs to play before the game was called off as a draw. Tamil Nadu earned one point from the first-innings lead.

Although they drew the match and conceded only one point to Mumbai, Rajasthan must have given themselves a shot at a win, chasing 231 runs in 56 overs on the fourth day of their Ranji Trophy game at Jaipur.

Mumbai, earlier, had resumed on 95 for one, but they could only muster 218 in their second innings. After Vinayak Mane (43) and Robin Morris (47) departed, no other batsman could get into the bowling, and the innings lasted only 46 more overs. Rajasthan made a measured start towards their target, adding 42 for the first wicket, but Paras Mhambhrey and Nilesh Kulkarni snapped up two scalps apiece to force a few stutters in the chase. The hosts finally ended on 140 for six, 91 adrift of a win.

Rain continued to blight the Railways-Himachal Pradesh Ranji Trophy elite group match at the Karnail Singh Stadium, Delhi, on the fourth day. Wet conditions forced the start to be delayed until after lunch, and when the pitch was no longer considered fit to play on, the match was thankfully abandoned. Railways did bat long enough to lose three wickets and add 49 runs, reaching 198 for four before an early close of play.

A power-packed performance from a strong Delhi batting line-up saw them take the sole point on offer - courtesy the first-innings lead - in their Ranji Trophy elite group tie against Hyderabad at the Feroz Shah Kotla.

Delhi still required 37 runs to take the first-innings lead, and those - and plenty more - were duly notched up on the fourth day. Gautam Gambhir, batting well on 140, reached 174 before falling as the fourth wicket. Varun Kumar and skipper Vijay Dahiya hit 77 and 78 respectively to lend further substance to the Delhi innings, which reached 492 for eight before it was declared closed.

Hyderabad had only 31 overs to play out, and they reached 106 for two in that time. Ambati Rayudu managed to hit a quick unbeaten 31, off 48 balls with three sixes and a four, before stumps.

Uttar Pradesh were facing a deficit of 230 runs when they resumed their second innings on the fourth day, and off-spinner Arnald Konwar ensured that they could not make those runs, giving Assam a win by an innings and 87 runs at Guwahati.

R Prakash and S Raina were the only batsmen to make even decent contributions, hitting 41 and 40 respectively. Once they fell, none of the others could remain at the crease, and the innings folded for 171 in 71.1 overs, with Konwar taking six for 46 off 26 overs.

Andhra Pradesh did not have a hard task cut out for them when play resumed on the fourth day, chasing as they were the small target of 108. As it transpired, Bengal could not pull off a shock upset, and the visitors cruised home by eight wickets.

Andhra Pradesh opener Fayaz Ahmed hit a steady, responsible 54 off 95 balls, with 10 fours, ensuring that his side did not experience any hiccups in their victory bid. Although AS Pathak and Hemal Watekar were dismissed for 58 runs, the visitors added the required runs in quick time to notch up a vital two points from their win.