Balaji bowls Tamil Nadu to an innings victory over Orissa

Medium-pacer Laxmipathy Balaji claimed six wickets in Orissa's second innings to secure Tamil Nadu an innings and 36 runs victory in an elite group encounter that ended at Chennai's MA Chidambaram stadium on Saturday.

In the morning, Orissa, who resumed their second innings at 78-4 - requiring a further 115 runs to make Tamil Nadu bat again - crumbled to 156 all out. Skipper Rahmi Ranjan Parida, who began the day on 22 not out, was the lone batsman to offer any resistance. He made 61 off 145 balls before falling to medium-pacer G Vignesh, who ended up with 3-50. Tamil Nadu were rewarded with three points for their efforts.

Medium-pacer Gagandeep Singh claimed a hat-trick to guide Punjab to 47-run win in a closely-fought Ranji elite group encounter at Mohali on Saturday.

Chasing 297 for victory, Uttar Pradesh had a more than fair chance at 228-6. But Gagandeep hustled his way in at that precise moment, wrecking the visitors' party by snaring Nikhil Chopra (64), Javed Anwar (0) and MB Tripathy (0) off successive balls. It was the first time a Punjab bowler had claimed a hat-trick in Ranji matches and from thereon Uttar Pradesh never recovered, slumping to 249 all out. Fellow medium-pacer Vineet Sharma was the other successful bowler ending up with 3-59.

Earlier, Punjab, who resumed their second innings at 158-4, were wrecked by Tripathy and Ashish Winston Zaidi in the morning. The duo claimed three wickets each to bundle out the hosts for 199. Tripathy, who had also claimed three wickets on Friday, ended up with flattering figures of 6-62, giving his side a realistic chance of pulling off a win. Gagandeep's splendid effort, though , meant that the visitors' designs were thwarted - Punjab carrying the day and the two points reserved for the winner.

Delhi opener Akash Chopra made an unbeaten 93 to guide his team to a seven-wicket win over Andhra at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Saturday.

Delhi, who began the day needing 128 runs for victory, were well-served by Chopra and Mithun Minhas (53). The duo put on 104 for the third wicket to take Delhi to within shouting distance of victory before Minhas' 71-ball stay came to an end. Chopra, though, stayed on, to ensure that his side completed a fine comeback win. The opener's 170-ball knock was studded with as many as 11 fours and one six.

Hosts Hyderabad secured the all-important first-innings lead against Bengal despite an 84 from all-rounder Laxmi Rattan Shukla and a 65 from stumper Deep Dasgupta.

Bengal, who resumed the day on 122-3, could only add 191 runs before being dismissed in their first innings. The visitors' helplessness to overhaul the Hyderabad score of 395 stemmed from the failure of most of their top-order batsmen to make a significant contribution. After Shukla and Dasgupta, the next best contribution came from veteran left-am spinner Utpal Chatterjee, who made 36. For Hyderabad, new-ball bowler Vishnuvardhan claimed 3-54.

When stumps were drawn at the end of the penultimate day's play, Hyderabad had managed to extend their overall lead to 209 with nine second innings wickets in hand. Opener Daniel Manohar was batting on 66 while No 3 A Nand Kishore was on 50.

In another elite group match at Jaipur, Rajasthan were left needing just 61 runs with all ten second innings wickets in hand against Himachal Pradesh.

In the morning, Rajasthan who resumed on 245/7, went on to post 266 before being dismissed. For Himachal Pradesh, new-ball bowler AK Thakur continued his good showing, claiming 5-73.

When the visitors batted a second time, 100 runs in the arrears, their batsmen failed to gain any inspiration from Thakur's efforts, crumbling to 195 all out. Sangram Singh, who made 49, was the top-scorer in an innings that had little else of note except a five-wicket haul for Rajasthan off-spinner RJ Kanwat.

With openers VA Saxena (11*) and RB Jhalani (16*) getting the Rajasthan second innings to a steady start, the hosts, then, were well-placed to complete a much-needed win on Sunday.

Opener Amit Pagnis made a fine 116 to secure his side the first innings lead against Mumbai in an elite group match at the Karnail Singh Stadium, Delhi on Saturday.

Pagnis' 268-ball effort and fifties from Jai P Yadav (60) and Tejinder Pal Singh (83) ensured that the defending champions kept their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stage alive. Mumbai, who batted for an hour in the last session after Railways skipper Abhay Sharma declared his side's innings in attempt to claim an outright win, were 10-0 when stumps were drawn at the end of the penultimate day's play.

In a plate group encounter played at the Vidarbha C.A. Ground, Nagpur, Vidarbha skittled out Tripura for 170 in their second innings to register an innings and 173 runs victory.'

On Saturday, Tripura, who resumed their second innings at 52-1, lost wickets at regular intervals. Left-arm seamer Chandrashekhar Atram triggered the slide with two quick wickets in the morning. Spinners Preetam Gandhe (3/63), Samir Khare (2/19) and Madhusudhan Acharya (2/32), then, took over and completed the task of humbling the visitors. Only opener R Jaiswal (51) and middle-order bat C Sachdev (41) were able to put up a fight for Tripura. Their efforts though failed to prevent their side from slumping to one of the worst defeats in this year's competition.

Opener V Taggar made 128 and No 3 Kanvaljit Singh 99 as the Jammu and Kashmir batsmen made a strong showing in their second innings against Maharashtra.

At the Deccan Gymkhana Ground, Pune, the visitors, who had conceded a 266-run first-innings lead, bounced back to post 336-5 by the time stumps were drawn at the end of the third day's play. SS Salaria on 50 and Imtiaz Ahmed on 11 were set to resume battle on Sunday.

At the end of the third day's play in another plate group encounter at the Air Force Station Ground, Delhi, Kerala were on course to claim the first innings lead against Services.

On Saturday, Services, who resumed on 51/1, could only reach 266/7. Yashpal Singh (61) was their top-scorer on a day when most other batsmen found the going tough. The hosts now face the herculean task of either scoring 213 runs or playing out the final day to avoid conceding any point.

At the Nehru Stadium, Gurgaon, a stroke-filled ton from No 9 Sumit Narwal put hosts Haryana in the driver's seat against Bihar.

Narwal made 137 off 146 balls, including 12 fours and five sixes, while No 10 Dharmender Phagna made a patient 54 as Haryana posted 491 in their first innings, securing themselves a lead of 266 runs.

Bihar, who began their second innings under enormous pressure, have made a confident start to their effort to save the game. When stumps were drawn on the penutimate day, the visitors had reached 136-2. When play resumes on Sunday, they will be looking to captain Rajiv Kumar (53 not out off 134 balls) to help them eke out a face-saving draw.