Ranji Trophy HLs: Bengal, Mumbai edge closer to big wins

Best batting performances

Contrasting half-centuries from Athish SR and Sonu Yadav have put Tamil Nadu in command against Odisha in Bhubaneswar. Having already fetched a handy lead in the first innings, TN ended up posting 316 despite struggling at 207/7 at one stage as Yadav hammered a 75-ball 74. Sai Kishore, who made 40, struck with the ball before stumps to reduce Odisha to 47/2. They further need an almost improbable 408 on the final day.

A fighting century from Abhinav Tejrana helped Goa avoid an innings defeat against Maharashtra. Tejrana's century helped Goa recover from 70/4 and go into stumps with a lead of 69. However, they are still on the backfoot with just four wickets remaining.

Rajasthan's No.7, 8 and 9 combined to score over 220 runs to lead a remarkable recovery against Himachal Pradesh. Stuttering at 104/6 at one stage, Rajasthan went on to post 342 following Manav Suthar's ton. Kukna Ajay Singh and Amol Chelani frustrated Himachal further with watchful half-centuries as the contest now appears to be heading towards a draw now.

Gujarat put up a much better performance in their second essay following a breezy century from Jaymeet Patel and a half-century from Urvil Patel. They were bowled out for 347 by stumps. However, their poor showing in the first innings could still likely come back to haunt them as Railways need only 99 to win.

Vidyadhar Patil and Shikhar Shetty shared five wickets between them to help Karnataka mount a fightback but Himanshu Mantri's fighting unbeaten 89 ensured Madhya Pradesh remained on top. Mantri hit only four boundaries in his innings but kept Karnataka at bay from one end to drag MP's lead to 336 by stumps.

Best bowling performances

A five-wicket haul from Mohammed Shami has put Bengal on the brink of an innings win over Services. Batting again after a poor outing in the first innings, Services struggled again making early inroads. Shami also got rid of the standout performer with the bat, Rajat Paliwal, right at the end to complete his fiver-fer. Services now trail by 102 runs with just two wickets remaining.

Mumbai's bowlers delivered throughout the day to put Hyderabad under immense pressure and almost deliver the knockout blow. Tushar Deshpande and Himanshu Singh shared five wickets between them to bowl Hyderabad out for 267 and when they were asked to follow-on, Hyderabad sank even further. This time, it was the turn of Mohit Awasthi and Musheer Khan to make inroads as the pair picked three wickets apiece to reduce Hyderabad to 166/7, trailing by 127 runs.

Kavuri Saiteja's four-wicket haul and a brace for Saurabh Kumar and Nitish Kumar Reddy has put Andhra on top against Vidarbha by stumps on the third day. The combined bowling effort from Andhra saw Vidarbha get bowled out for just 191 and as a result they set the hosts a target of 259. Given the start they made - 93/1 at stumps - Andhra will fancy their chances of chasing this down on the final day.

Vishnu Vinod and Salman Nizar hit fifties but that didn't alter the final result as Chandigarh won by an innings and 92 runs. Rohit Dhanda picked up four wickets and Vishu Kashyap added three scalps for Chandigarh in their resounding win.