*Vijay Bharadwaj scores double in vain

Brushing aside an unbeaten 207 from Vijay Bharadwaj, Tamil Nadu cantered to a four-wicket victory over Karnataka in their Ranji Trophy league match at Bangalore on Wednesday.

Resuming overnight on 233/3, with Bharadwaj on 125, Karnataka lost wickets are regular intervals, primarily to Tamil Nadu medium-pacer L Balaji (4-120). Bharadwaj forged on unhindered at the other end, almost as if he were playing on a different pitch and against a different attack.

In 273 balls, Bharadwaj made 207, a knock that featured 32 fours and a six. He remained unbeaten as his side was dismissed for 388. Only Sunil Joshi and Dodda Ganesh could offer him any support, and they took fell cheaply.

Set only 136 to win, Tamil Nadu experienced some early scares as tight bowling from Karnataka saw the visitors collapse to 69/4. Heman Badani's unbeaten 34, however, guided his team to victory, and Tamil Nadu picked eight points by virtue of their outright win.

*Hyderabad steamroll Kerala

Hyderabad bowled Kerala out for 182 to win their Ranji Trophy league match at Cochin on Wednesday.

When Kerala started the day, they needed to score 317 runs with 10 wickets in hand.They opted, however, to play for the draw from outset, illustrated best by opener MP Sorab's agonisingly slow 56 off 205 balls. His teammates, however, could not even show that dogged tenacity, and wickets fell at regular intervals.

Sorab became the fourth wicket to fall, with the score on 123. The last six wickets fell for 59 runs, with Venkatapathy Raju (5-66) and Jogram Yadav (4-32) doing maximum damage. Hyderabad, by virtue of their outright win, pick up eight points from this match, while Kerala gain none.

*Kiran Powar fights to no avail

Andhra Pradesh successfully chased a target of 89 to win their Ranji Trophy league match over Goa at Vijayawada on Wednesday.

Reeling at 57/6 overnight, Goa found a rescuer in Kiran Powar, who scored his second century in as many Tests. Remaining unbeaten on 104, Powar saw his side through to a total of 191, avoiding an innings defeat if not giving his side a shot at victory. He was supported only by HAS Khalid, who made 52 lower down the order.

Set a target of 89, Andhra Pradesh shrugged off the early loss of openers and went on to win after the loss of only three wickets. They pick up eight points from this win, while Goa gain none.

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