Irfan gives Baroda sensational win

Baroda 124 and 145 for 3 (Irfan 65*) beat Saurashtra 127 and 137 (Pujara 71, Pujara 4-35, Bhaja 4-42) by seven wickets
Scorecard

Irfan Pathan's all-round show powered Baroda to victory against Saurashtra on another day for bowlers to savour at the Moti Bagh Stadium. Cheteshwar Pujara was the only Saurashtra batsman to come to terms with the track, making 71 (next highest 15) before he was the last man out as his side was rolled over for 137. It has been a match has swung from one side to the next, and Saurashtra's batting let them down once again after their bowlers had wrung out a first-innings lead on Tuesday. Irfan took the opening wicket before grabbing the final three in the space of six deliveries. Firdaush Bhaja also finished with four, running through the middle-order. Baroda lost three batsmen in their chase of 141 but Irfan blasted a 45-ball 65 to clinch the win which dented Saurashtra's hopes of making the quarter-finals

Uttar Pradesh 62 (Bose 5-18) and 53 for 2 need another 183 runs to beat Bengal 193 and 104 (Bhuveshwar 5-27)
Scorecard

Twenty-two wickets went down on a manic day at the Green Park Stadium, after which Uttar Pradesh had a slight edge over Bengal. Fast bowler Ranadeb Bose ripped through the UP top order in the morning with a five-wicket haul that helped bowl out the home side for 62 in only 24.1 overs. That gave Bengal a handy 131-run lead, but Bhuvneshwar Kumar managed exactly what Bose did to keep UP in the match. He grabbed five of the first six wickets to limit Bengal to 104. Manoj Tiwary and Sourav Ganguly both fell for ducks and it was 56-run eighth-wicket stand between Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Sourav Sarkar that helped Bengal reach triple digits after they were struggling at 35 for 7. UP made a relatively solid start to the chase of 236, finishing at 53 for 2. Bose, though, predicted a much more closely-fought second innings, as the wicket had eased out. "I am in no mood to enjoy the five-wicket haul as the match is not over yet," he told the Telegraph. "We still have to get eight wickets. The wicket won't help as much as it did on the first two days. Remember, lightning doesn't strike twice. Uttar Pradesh can't be bowled out for 62 again. But we have to win this match."

Maharashtra 163 (Awana 5-40) and 32 for 1 trail Delhi 419 (Manhas 170, Bhatia 99, Fallah 5-121, Patil 4-113) by 224 runs
Scorecard

A solid bowling performance from Delhi pushed them towards a win that will take them five points clear of fourth-placed Baroda. Medium-pacer Parvinder Awana took five to scythe through Maharashtra's first innings, keeping them to 163. Even that needed a brisk 39, including eight fours, from No. 10 Jitendra Patil. Forced to follow on, Maharashtra finished the day at 32 for 1, still a long way from making Delhi bat again. Among the few moments to enjoy for Maharashtra was getting rid of overnight batsman Mithun Manhas for 170, the addition of only four runs.

Hyderabad 99 for 2 (Nag 51) trail Railways 305 (Goud 79, Fazal 69, Suresh 64, Absolem 5-89) by 206 runs
Scorecard

It was still an even game between Hyderabad and Railways at the Uppal Stadium. Again the batsmen took their time to make the runs; M Suresh's 329-minute 64 guiding Railways to a satisfactory 305. Alfred Absolem, the ICL returnee, was the most effective of Hyderabad's bowlers finishing with a five-for. Hyderabad replied with a patient effort, opener Shashank Nag taking 144 deliveries for his 51 before being dismissed in the day's final over. Anirudh Singh made a measured 41, and in partnership with Nag, took Hyderabad to 99 for 2.

Himachal Pradesh 174 for 8 (Dogra 65*, Trivedi 4-28) trail Gujarat 234 (Parthiv 57) by 60 runs
Scorecard

Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat were involved in an intense tussle for the first-innings lead in Surat. Gujarat lost their final five wickets for 19 runs to make a modest 234. This after the overnight pair of Bhavik Thaker and Sunny Singh added 71 runs on the day. The HP top-order collapsed, with four of the top five falling in single digits. Vinit Indulkar (49) and an unbeaten 65 from the experienced Paras Dogra kept HP's chances of gaining three points by overhauling Gujarat's total alive. It is Gujarat who hold the edge, though, as they need only two more wickets while HP need 60 runs.

Punjab 144 for 8 (Basanth Mohanty 4-44) trail Orissa 283 (Behera 72, Pati 52, Alok Sahoo 58) by 139 runs
Scorecard

Basanth Mohanty's four wickets left Orissa poised to taking the first-innings lead against Punjab in Chandigarh. Orissa's final three wickets extended the innings to 283, thanks to Alok Sahoo's half-century. Punjab's top-order flopped in reply, with Ravi Inder Singh being the only one of the top six to cross 20. Basanth scalped the first four wickets to reduce Punjab to 74 for 4. It was then the turn of Debashis Mohanty to do the damage, striking three blows to push Punjab to 114 for 8.

Click to read Nagraj Gollapudi's bulletin of the second day's play between Mumbai and Tamil Nadu.