Hooda's massive double ton deflates Mumbai

Best batting performances

Deepak Hooda smashed a mammoth double ton to pile on the misery over Mumbai as Rajasthan put themselves in pole position to pick up a memorable win. Having already smashed a ton on the second day, Hooda converted that into a massive double before finally getting dismissed for 248. Kartik Sharma made 139 at the other end before Rajasthan finally declared at 617/6. Trailing by 363, Mumbai did get off to a positive start with Yashasvi Jaiswal racing to a breezy fifty. Musheer Khan finished unbeaten on 32 at the other end as the openers wiped off 89 runs by stumps.

Hanuma Vihari hit a memorable unbeaten century to keep Tripura afloat against Bengal in Agartala. In reply to Bengal's 336, Tripura made a very poor start and were reduced to 53/5. At 93/6, Vijay Shankar joined Vihari out in the middle and the duo were involved in a century stand that gave Tripura a massive lift. While Shankar departed for 34, Vihari went on to complete his century and remain not out on 121. Mohammed Shami went wicketless but will be the key tomorrow to give his team the first innings lead with Tripura still 63 behind.

Akash Vasisht's brilliant hundred helped Himachal Pradesh claw back and establish themselves as favourites against Hyderabad heading into the final day. After fetching a slender first innings lead, Himachal were pegged back in their second essay before Vasisht joined forces with Ekant Sen first and Mayank Dagar later to script a turnaround. Hyderabad were then set a target of 344 to win this contest.

Puducherry managed to take an unlikely first innings lead over Delhi at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Resuming at 240/4, Puducherry piled on the runs with opener Ajay Rohera stroking a breezy 151 that came off just 205 balls. Lower down the order, Aman Khan hammered 66 off just 47 deliveries whereas Jayant Yadav added to Delhi's frustration with 71 as Puducherry finished with 481 that gave them a massive lead of 187. Delhi's openers knocked off 76 runs by stumps.

Tamil Nadu have put themselves in a delicate situation yet again after Vidarbha took complete control of their contest with just a day left. Yash Rathod struck a century on the third day to carry forward the good work from Vidarbha's top four. Nachiket Bhute lower down the order added more agony to TN with a quickfire fifty as Vidarbha finished with 501. With over 200 runs needed to make Vidarbha bat again, TN have their task cut out on the final day to save this contest.

Suyash Prabhudessai hit a mammoth 149 after opening the innings to give Goa the first innings lead over Punjab. Prabhudessai was involved in a 222-run partnership for the opening wicket with his partner missing out on a ton by just 14 runs. However, Abhinav Tejrana didn't miss out on the three-figure mark as he thrilled by clearing the ropes seven times in his 140-ball 131 as Goa finished with 439/3 to drag the lead to 114.

Best bowling performances

Anukul Roy picked up ten wickets on a single day across two innings to put Jharkhand on the brink of an innings win over Nagaland. Resuming at 37/0, Nagaland folded in meek fashion for just 154 after Anukul ran through their lineup to finish with an eight-wicket haul. A familiar story unfolded when Nagaland were asked to follow-on with Anukul picking two out of the five wickets they lost by stumps.

A frenetic day in Palam saw the fall of 18 wickets as the contest between Services and Uttarakhand headed to thrilling finish finish. After Services lost their last three wickets on the third day to concede a first innings lead of 34, Uttarakhand came up with a shocking display in their second essay. From 51/1, they collapsed in dramatic fashion to get bowled out for just 88 with Arjun Sharma and Vikas Yadav sharing all ten wickets between them. That collapse set Services a tricky target of 123 that now looks like a mountain after they lost half their side by stumps. On the final day, Services need another 52 runs for victory with just five wickets in hand.

Another day at the Gujarat College Ground in Ahmedabad belonged to the bowlers as the home side put themselves on the brink of a loss. Haryana resumed from 90/4 and fetched a vital first innings lead following some vital contributions in the middle order. Trailing by 76, Gujarat lost four wickets by the time they erased the deficit and took a lead of five runs. Four more wickets fell as all four bowlers used by Haryana managed to open their wickets column. Reeling at 113/8, Gujarat have a lead of just 37 now.

Vidhwath Kaverappa picked up a four-wicket haul whereas Vijaykumar Vyshak finished with three as Karnataka remained in total control of their contest against Kerala. On expected lines, Kerala folded on the third day after making a disastrous start with the bat before stumps on the second day. Only Baba Aparajith impressed with 88 as Kerala were bowled out for 238 before being asked to follow-on.