Balaji and Karthik set up crushing win for Tamil Nadu
A round-up of the third day's play of the third-round matches of the Ranji Trophy Super League 2008-09
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L Balaji celebrated his return to first-class cricket with a five-wicket haul to help Tamil Nadu sink Uttar Pradesh by an innings and 238 runs in Ghaziabad. The captain, Dinesh Karthik, made his highest first-class score (213) to push Tamil Nadu past 500 before Balaji and C Ganapathy combined to bundle out UP for 119.
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After gaining a first-innings lead of 35, Mumbai took further control over Delhi at the Feroz Shah Kotla with their openers, Wasim Jaffer and Sahil Kukreja, ending the day unbroken on 149. Mumbai extended their overall lead to 184 and with a draw likely, Mumbai should profit from their first-innings points unless something dramatic happens on the final day.
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Hyderabad were staring at defeat on the third day after being asked to follow-on against Gujarat in Ahmedabad. The star for the home team was Siddarth Trivedi, the right-arm seamer, who took four wickets to restrict Hyderabad to 225 and later took all three wickets to fall in the second innings. Hyderabad ended the day at 45 for 3, needing a further 250 to make Gujarat bat again.
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A seven-wicket haul by Dhiraj Singh helped Orissa snatch a vital first-innings lead of 11 against Rajasthan in Sambalpur. Dhiraj, the left-arm spinner, ran through the middle order to bowl out Rajasthan for 270. The visitors ended the second day at a strong 172 for 2 and looked set to obtain a lead but Dhiraj spoilt their plans.
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It was another luckless day for Railways as Baroda, led by centuries by Azharuddin Bilakhia (157) and Connor Williams (137), stretched the lead to 236 at the Karnail Singh Stadium. The pair added a mammoth 278 for the second wicket, more than what 11 Railways players could manage, before Karan Sharma ended Williams' resistance. Murali Kartik took two quick wickets and Baroda suddenly lost three wickets against the run of play. However, the home side failed to make further inroads as Baroda frustrated them with two partnerships with 50 and 43 respectively. Shatrunjay Gaekwad scored a patient 47 while Irfan Pathan chipped in with 40 off 52 balls to push the score past 400. With a day left, and Railways yet to dismiss the opposition, a draw looms.
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Cheteshwar Pujara is on a roll. After scoring two triple-centuries in the lead-up to the Ranji season, he scored a blazing 189 off 182 balls today and with the dour Shithanshu Kotak for company, took Saurashtra close to Punjab's 482 in Rajkot. Kotak, who scored 102 off 287 balls, played second fiddle in a mammoth stand of 258 for the third wicket. Punjab began the day on a good note, dismissing Bhushan Chauhan for 45 but had to wait nearly 60 overs for their next breakthrough. Pujara smashed 31 fours in his knock and looked set for a double-century before edging Charanjeet Singh to Pankaj Dharmani. Manpreet Gony later accounted for Kotak and he was the last wicket to fall as Saurashtra trailed by 77.
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Seventeen wickets fell on a dramatic third day in Mysore, but there was no change in overall match situation, with Karnataka retaining a firm grip. Andhra fought back after falling 148 runs short in the first innings through medium-pacer P Vijaykumar's six-wicket haul. But their top order's failings, on a pitch with a hint of variable bounce, put Karnataka back in charge. . Read the full report.