Delhi's bowlers restricted a resurgent Mumbai to a moderate 330 before a 97-run unconquered stand between Mithun Manhas and Rajat Bhatia lifted the hosts to 176 for 4 on the second day of the Ranji Trophy Super League match at Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium in Delhi on Monday.
The Delhi bowlers, who did not have much to cheer about on Sunday, with Ajinkya Rahane and Amol Muzumdar stealing the show, put up a fine effort on Monday to capitalise on early moisture on the pitch after skipper Aakash Chopra took the new ball in the third over of the day.
Rahane, who was unbeaten on 151 at the end of Day 1, could add only
nine runs to his score as Puneet Bisht pouched him off Sumit Narwal's delivery, putting an end to the 223-run third wicket partnership with Muzumdar.
Left-arm pacer Pradeep Sangwan dealt another blow to the visitors when his delivery found Muzumdar's (83) foot in front of the wickets, thus bagging his only wicket during the innings.
Then Mumbai's lower-middle order batsmen failed to arrest the slide as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Only Hiken Shah offered resistance before his stumps were toppled by Narwal. He scored 21 off 43 balls.
For the hosts, Narwal bagged four wickets, while Parvinder Awana took three. Leg-spinner Chetanya Nanda, who ended up empty-handed on Sunday, also got two wickets for 55 runs.
Chasing the target, Delhi's top order failed to deliver on what seems a placid pitch as four batsmen gave in to the Mumbai bowlers' controlled line and length.
Ajit Agarkar dealt the first blow to the hosts in the third over of the innings when Sikhar Dhawan (1) missed the line of his delivery, which crashed on to the stumps.
Skipper Chopra was doing well after joining hands with Mayank Tehlan (21), but the flow of runs was hampered when the former had to head back on 16 after being dismissed by Mumbai pacer Dhawal Kulkarni.
With the hosts tottering at 79 for 4, Mithun Manhas and Rajat Bhatia combined in the middle to build an unbeaten partnership of 97 runs in 107 minutes, much to the relief of the team.
Mumbai's bowlers tried every trick to send them packing, but failed. Mithun, who spent 77 balls to complete his half-century, struck 13 boundaries and was unbeaten on 72.
Bhatia, with a fighting unbeaten 45 off 69 balls, played a supportive role to Mithun, giving Delhi the timely recovery and helping them finish the day with 176 for 4 on the board.
For the visitors, Agarkar took two wickets, while Kulkarni and Malvi got one each.
Brief scores: Mumbai 330 all out in 110.3 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 160, Amol Muzumdar 83; Sumit Narwal 4-43, Parvinder Awana 3-77); Delhi 176-4 in 51 overs (Mithun Manhas batting 72, Rajat Bhatia batting 45; Ajit Agarkar 2-46).
Andhra slump to 161 for 7 vs Karnataka
Sunil Joshi scalped four wickets as Andhra slumped to 161 for 7 against Karnataka on the second day of the Ranji Trophy Super League Group 'B' match in Mysore on Monday.
Earlier resuming at 277 for 7, the hosts were all out for 366 in their first essay. Captain Robin Uthappa top-scored with 133, while Sunil Joshi made 65.
Kalyan Krishna was pick of the Andhra bowlers, bagging four wickets for 85 runs.
The visitors started their reply disastrously with six of their batsmen back in the pavilion with the team total reading 50.
Then came the rescue act that saw Manoj Sai (70) adding 111 runs for the seventh wicket with M Suresh (29 not out).
Sai was dismissed to the last ball of the day, caught by wicketkeeper V S Thilak Naidu off Joshi.
Brief scores: Karnataka 366 all out in 113.4 overs (Uthappa 133, Joshi 65, Dravid 39; Kalyan Krishna 4/85); Andhra 161 for seven in 55 overs (Sai 70, Suresh 29 not out; Joshi 4/23, N C Aiyappa 2/52).
Badrinath, Karthik put TN in command
Centurions S Badrinath and Dinesh Karthik rescued Tamil Nadu from a poor start, guiding the team to 356 for four in reply to Uttar Pradesh's first innings 150 on the second day of their Group B Super League Ranji Trophy match in Ghaziabad on Monday.
Badrinath scored an impressive 123, while Karthick was unbeaten at 159, with S Suresh (5) giving him company in the middle when the day ended with Tamil Nadu a commanding 206-run ahead.
Resuming at the overnight 78 for 2, Karthik and Badrinath shared a 213-run partnership to help Tamil Nadu take control of the proceedings going into the penultimate day of the four-day match.
Badrinath departed after being caught behind off the bowling of P Gupta with the team total at 254. Karthick was then joined by S Vidyuth, who contributed 44 runs to the total before becoming the victim of S Tyagi, who had him caught by R Shukla.
Tamil Nadu's rock-solid batting translated into another frustrating day for the hosts and star spinner Piyush Chawla went wicketless conceding 73 runs in his 23 overs.
Brief scores: Tamil Nadu 356 for four (S Badrinath 123, Dinesh Karthick 159 not out) vs Uttar Pradesh 150
Saurashtra 81 for 1 in reply to Punjab's 482
Saurashtra were comfortably placed at 81 for 1 in reply to Punjab's first innings of 482 at stumps at the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground in Rajkot.
Opener Bhushan Chauhan was on 41 and giving him company was Sitanshu Kotak on 22.
Saurashtra's openers gave a steady start to their innings, putting up 44 runs before Kanaiya Vaghela was caught in front of the wicket by Gagandeep Singh.
He scored 16, inclusive of two boundaries. Thereafter, Chauhan was well-supported by the experienced Kotak and the duo avoided any further damage for the hosts.
Earlier, resuming at their overnight score of 291 for 5, Taruvar Kohli (79) and Ankur Kakkar (67) stitched 119 runs for the sixth wixket to help Punjab pile a mammoth total.
Pacer Manpreet Goni also came to the party, scoring a quickfire 33 with the help of some lusty hitting. Kohli faced 158 balls and struck 12 fours in his innings, while Kakkar's 67 came off 113 deliveries and was studded with six hits to the fence and two sixes.
Goni then added to the frustration of Saurashtra's bowlers, hitting three fours and two sixes in his 36-ball stay at the crease.
For Saurashtra, leg spinner Ravindra Jadeja was the pick of the bowlers, scalping five wickets for 106 runs, while off-spinner Kamlesh Makwana took three for 115.
Brief scores: Punjab 482 (Taruvar Kohli 79, Ankur Kakkar 67); Saurashtra 81 for 1 (Bhushan Chauhan 41 not out).
Williams, Bilakhia tons put Baroda on top
Opener Connor Williams and Azhar Anjum Bilakhia hit patient unbeaten hundreds to help Baroda post 265 for loss of one wicket and take 41-run first innings lead over Railways.
Stitching a 218-run partnership for the second wicket, Williams was batting on 107 and Bilakhia on 127 when stumps were drawn at the Karnail Singh Stadium.
Resuming at overnight score of one for no loss, openers Connor and Satyajit Parab could take the visitors' total only to 47 before the latter was trapped leg before wicket by Sanjib Sanyal.
Parab had added just 27 more runs to his Day 1 single before ending his 37-ball knock, adorned with six hits to the fence, in the pre-lunch session itself.
But Williams got an able partner in Bilakhia and the duo appeared to be in rhythm as they batted through the day, facing 247 and 254 balls respectively, leaving the opposition bowlers completely frustrated.
Williams hit 10 boundaries and a six while Bilakhia's knock was aided by 15 fours and a towering six.
Brief scores: Railways 224; Baroda 265 for 1 (Connor Williams 107 not out, Azhar Bilakhia 127 not out).
Orissa score 281 against Rajasthan
Orissa collapsed as wicketkeeper batsman Haladhar Das ran out of partners to see their side all out for 281 against Rajasthan on day two of the Group A match at the VSS Stadium in Sambalpur.
At close, Rajasthan were comfortably placed at 172 for two from 75 overs with former India opener Gagan Khoda and Robin Bist unconquered on 87 and 32 respectively.
Resuming at the overnight score of 235 for six, Orissa lost their first wicket in the very first over when Sumit Mathur taking the wicket of Debasis Mohanty who went to the pavilion without adding anything to his overnight score of two.
Pritamjit Das (14) tried to build on a stand with Haladhar but the left-arm medium pacer fell to Gajendra Singh with their 21 runs partnership cut short.
Haladhar remained defiant and tried to do some repair work with Basant Mohanty (12). In fact, their ninth wicket partnership yielded 24 runs before the fiery medium-pacer fell to Vivek Yadav who in the very next ball trapped Dhiraj Singh (0) as the wicket-keeper batsman, Haladhar, remained unbeaten on a patient 59 which came off 151 balls with five hits to the boundary.
Having taken his second wicket of the day, the medium-pacer Yadav hauled four wickets, conceding 45 runs.
Sumit Mathur returned with three for 63, while Venugopal Rao had two for 49.
Brief scores: Orissa 281 (Haladhar Das 59 not out, Vivek Yadav 4 for 45) vs Rajasthan 172 for two (Gagan Khoda 87 not out)
