Baroda play it by the Buch

At one stage, when Ajay Ratra and Dinesh Mongia were cantering along uninhibitedly, Rest of India looked certain to overhaul Baroda's total comfortably and establish a daunting first-innings lead. But then a Baroda left-arm orthodox spinner decided to leave his stamp on the match. A Buch-mark, so to speak.

Valmik Buch, who had found little success on Day Two, took four of the last six wickets to fall, finishing with figures of 34.3-11-94-5. His performance was significant; on a pitch that was hurriedly prepared in three days, spin may decide the outcome of this match.

Baroda broke the Mongia-Ratra partnership only at a score of 264 when Irfan S Pathan had Ratra leg-before for his first wicket of the match. Sarandeep Singh offered a return catch to Buch to depart at 285 and, with Rahul Sanghvi falling and 299 and the tail dangerously exposed, a collapse looked imminent.

Mongia, however, batted with assurance and a resolute Debasish Mohanty to register a century. His 125, when it ended, included 14 fours and three sixes and, more importantly, helped Rest of India to hobble past Baroda's first innings total.

When Mongia finally departed at 323, Buch snapped up Tinu Yohannan and Shalabh Srivastava in rapid succession. The innings crumpled at 331, giving Rest of India an anaemically thin lead of 13 runs.

Even though opener Satyajit Parab fell to Yohannan for 3, Baroda marched stridently forward in the second innings. Captain Connor Williams followed up his first-innings ton with another superlative effort; hitting 13 fours and a six, as he exploded to 83 off only 122 balls. Williams found sedate support from Nayan Mongia, who scored an unbeaten 31.

Day Three closed when Sarandeep Singh picked up Williams' wicket. Baroda will thus start Day Four at 124 for two. On a badly prepared track that may crumble at any instant, every run that Baroda scores will count heavily against Rest of India in the final chase.