Ganguly's 159 helps Bengal gain lead
A summary of matches on the third day of the latest round in the Ranji Trophy
Cricinfo staff
25-Nov-2005
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Boosted by a superb 159 by Sourav Ganguly, Bengal gained a valuable 28 runs lead on the third day of the Ranji Trophy clash against Maharashtra at Pune. Ganguly, 81 overnight, cracked 17 fours on course to his 25th first-class hundred and he shared vital partnerships with Rohan Gavaskar and Laxmi Ratan Shukla (42). Munaf Patel, the fast bowler who moved from Mumbai, ended Ganguly's fine knock and pulled things back for Maharashtra by mopping up the tail, ending with 4 for 104. With only the last day to go, and Maharashtra only 73 ahead, Bengal appear to have done enough to end this game with first-innings honours.
Punjab 223 and 216 for 4 (Dharmani 89*) beat Services 147 and 291 (Mohanty 61) by 6 wickets
Scorecard
Scorecard
Pankaj Dharmani steered Punjab to a tricky target of 216 as they posted a comfortable six-wicket win over newly-promoted Services at Mohali. Services, having started the day at 228 for 8, stretched their score to 291, thanks to AK Mohanty and Arun Sharma. But that proved futile as Ravneet Ricky and later Dharmani, the captain, chased down the total to earn four points for Punjab.
A four-wicket haul from Ramesh Powar, the offspinner, helped Mumbai inch closer to gaining the first-innings lead in their match against Delhi at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground. Powar chipped away at the Delhi top order, finishing with 4 for 65, and only Mithun Manhas's unbeaten 79 that lent Delhi some consolation. Most of the other batsmen got starts but didn't capitalise and post a big score, as Delhi's hopes of gaining a first-innings lead gradually diminished.
Despite a six-wicket haul from Santhosh Saxena, the medium-pacer, the Karnataka batsmen gritted their way to earn a valuable 12-run lead at the end of the third day's play at Delhi. The advantage swung either way on an absorbing third day's play at the Karnail Singh Stadium as both teams fought hard for the lead. Shankar Rao, the medium-pacer, removed both the overnight batsmen, Sudhindra Shinde and Stuart Binny, in the space of five deliveries after the duo had added 58 runs today to push Karnataka to 193 for 5. B Akhil (31) and Sunil Joshi then steadied the Karnataka innings with a 50-run partnership before Anil Kumble's 71-ball 19 helped Karnataka clinch the lead and all but ensure themselves of two points from the game.
Only 25 overs were possible on a truncated day at Tirunelveli but it was enough for Tamil Nadu to gain upper hand as they dismissed Gujarat for a paltry 159. Ramadoss Naresh, the left arm medium-pacer, tore into the middle order while S Vidyut, the left arm spinner, got rid of the tail. Tamil Nadu, who were 28 for 1 at stumps, needed 132 on the final day to secure a first-innings lead and earn two points from the game.
Ashish Winston Zaidi's inspired opening burst and Praveen Kumar's allround display put Uttar Pradesh on top at close on the third day at Kanpur. Kumar, making his first-class debut, added a valuable 62 for the seventh-wicket with Jyoti Yadav to steer UP to a 33-run lead. He then combined with Zaidi, a veteran of more than 100 first-class games who ended with a four-wicket haul, to leave Haryana reeling at 135 for 9.
Half-centuries from three middle-order batsmen put Baroda in a strong position against Andhra at the end of the third day's play at Anantapur. Baroda, struggling overnight at 58 for 4, were lifted to 262, owing mainly to the gutsy efforts of Yusuf Pathan, Rakesh Solanki and Kiran Powar. Zaheer Khan then rocked the Andhra innings with three quick wickets as they ended the day on 57 for 3.