Karnataka fought back with a strong batting performance on the second day of the Ranji Trophy third round Elite Group match

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan24-Nov-2003Karnataka 129 for 1 (Arunkumar 58) and 145 lead Rajasthan 168 (Khoda 61, Kanwat 54, Ganesh 5-72) by 106 runs
Scorecard
Rajasthan gained a slender lead of 23 runs but the Karnataka openers put on a century opening stand as the momentum swung towards the visitors on the second day at Jaipur. Rahul Kanwat and Gagan Khoda hit useful half centuries that helped Rajasthan gain the first innings lead. Dodda Ganesh polished off the tail to finish with a five wicket haul. However the deficit was erased in no time with J Arunkumar, the Karnataka captain, compiling a half century and Barrington Rowland supporting him with and unbeaten 48.Mumbai 126 for 3 trail Uttar Pradesh 205 (Pandey 77*) by 79 runs
Scorecard
The Uttar Pradesh lower order managed only 36 runs this morning as Gynendra Pandey was left stranded on 77 without any support. Mumbai put up a good batting performance to finish the day at 126 for the loss of three wickets. Both the openers, Vinayak Mane and Wasim Jaffer, got healthy starts but failed to stay for a longer period of time. If Mumbai manage to get well ahead of the UP total, they may be on their way to their third win of the season.Tamil Nadu 84 for 3 trail Bengal 400 (Haldipur 100, Sanyal 89) by 316 runs
Scorecard
Bengal took the upper hand on the second day at Tirunelveli. Nikhil Haldipur completed his century and Sanjib Sanyal hit 89 as the innings folded at exactly 400 all out. Tamil Nadu were in a spot of bother at 84 for three with only S Badrinath’s 49 saving the day. Sanyal’s innings included ten boundaries and two sixes and he was supported by Utpal Chatterjee who made 37. For the first time this season Tamil Nadu were on the back foot and will need to show some steel to overhaul Bengal’s first innings total.Railways 200 for 9 lead Delhi 195 (Manhas 62) by 5 runs
Scorecard
Railways managed to gain teh first innings lead, but only just in a low scoring tussle against Delhi. Sanjay Bangar and TP Singh hit 42 and 47 respectively and at 109 for 1 Railways were all set for a huge total. But Kunal Lal and Narender Negi, the two medium pacers, picked up wickets at regular intervals and got Delhi back into the match. Mithun Manhas, the Delhi captain, had been the lone success with the bat with a well-made 62.Assam 537 for 9 (Sathish 133*, Sukhvinder 112, Saravanan 89, Das 71, Zuffri 53) v Hyderabad
Scorecard
The Assam batsmen piled on the misery for Hyderabad to finish the second day at a mammoth 537 for 9. Rajagopal Sathish was unbeaten on 133 and Sukhvinder Singh hit 112 and they amassed 190 runs for the sixth wicket partnership. The Hyderabad bowling was torn to shreds but JS Yadav came off unscathed with 5 for 140 in his 48 overs. Three other batsmen made fifties and Hyderabad will have to play catch up for the next two days.Punjab 98 for 2 (Dinesh Mongia 53*) trail Baroda 369 (Martin 149, R Parab 54) by 271 runs
Scorecard
After a great start yesterday Baroda’s middle order disappointed and Punjab bowled them out for 369. Jacob Martin completed a fine century and Nayan Mongia made 47, but the rest fell in a hurry. Punjab stuttered when they lost two early wickets but Dinesh Mongia (53*) helped them reach 98 for 2 at stumps.Kerala 7 for 1 trail Andhra 458 for 7 decl (Venugopala Rao 115, Srinivas 116, Prasad 82) by 451 runs
Scorecard
Venugopala Rao and Srinivas hit centuries as Andhra declared at 458 for 7 at the end of the second day’s play. Sunil Oasis was the most successful bowler for Kerala with 4 for 61. Kerala lost the wicket of CM Deepak before the close and will need some big partnerships on the morrow.Plate Championship First Round
Tripura 190 for 4 (Jaiswal 76) trail Vidharbha 287 (Gawande 60) by 97 runs
Scorecard
Tripura finished the day at 190 for 4 in reply to Vidharbha’s first innings score of 287. Ranjib Jaiswal top-scored with 76 while M Acharya was the best bowler with three wickets for 36 runs.Earlier NS Gawande’s 60 had enabled Vidharbha to get past the 250 mark.Orissa 202 for 2 (Mohapatra 83, Behera 60*) trail Goa 235 (Swapnil 126, Mohanty 5-44) by 33 runs
Scorecard
The Orissa batsmen had a great day in the middle to finish at 202 for the loss of only 2 wickets. Biswa Mohapatra scored 83 and S Behara hit 60 not out as Orissa ended merely 33 runs adrift of Goa’s first innings total. The Goan innings was build mainly arounf AA Swapnil’s patient hundred.Jammu and Kashmir 31 for 0 and 96 (Vashisht 6-32) trail Haryana 304 (Shafiq 71, Snny 66, Ganda 57) by 177 runs
Scorecard
Gaurav Vashisht spearheaded Haryana’s bowling as Jammu and Kashmir were floored for a mere 96 all out. Vashisht, an offspinner, picked up 6-32 as Haryana enforced the follow-on on the second day of the first round match. Earlier Haryana finished at 304 with half centuries from Shafiq Khan, Sunny and Ishan Ganda. Himachal Pradesh 131 for 4 (Sharma 50*) trail Services 233 (Reddy 66, Verma 58, Malik 5-56) by 102 runs
Scorecard
Himachal Pradesh overcame some anxious moments to finish the day at 131 for 4 at stumps. They were 35 for 3 at one point but the two Sharma’s, Amit and Virender, rescued them with a fine partnership. Services folded up their innings at 233 with Vikramjeet Malik being the pick of the bowlers with five wickets.