Maharashtra make strong comeback

Maharashtra made a spirited reply to a Connor-Williams-inspired Baroda first-innings total in their Ranji Trophy league match at Pune on Monday.

Baroda ended their first innings on 424, inspired largely by Tushar Arothe, who made 85. Holding the lower order together, Arothe played patiently for 251 minutes and 183 balls to be the ninth wicket to fall. He was well supported by Zaheer Khan, who made a brisk 43 off 33 balls. For Maharashtra, Iqbal Siddiqui took five wickets.

Maharashtra did not wilt in the face of such a big deficit. Although Niranjan Godbole fell early, JS Narse and Hrishikesh Kanitkar kept the score ticking over. Both were dismissed before the close of play, but Abhijit Kale and KD Aphale put on an unbeaten 109 runs for the fourth wicket.

At stumps, Kale was on 62 off 135 balls, while Aphale had made 40 off 69 balls. For Baroda, Valmik Buch took two wickets, while Zaheer Khan claimed one.

Wasim Jaffer strikes century

Opener Wasim Jaffer struck a solid 139 to give Mumbai the edge in their Ranji Trophy league match against Saurashtra at Mumbai.

Replying to Saurashtra's not-insignificant total, Mumbai batsmen ensured that their side took the the vital first-innings lead in a match that looks to be heading for a draw. Along with Vinayak Mane, Jaffer put on 135 runs for the first wicket and then shared more good partnerships with K More and Amol Muzumdar.

Jaffer fell as the third wicket, having made 139 off 218 balls, with 15 fours and one six. Muzumdar remained unbeaten at stumps on 87 off 173 balls, with eight fours. His knock took Mumbai to a total of 384/6 at the close of play. Vinod Kambli, lower down the order, struck a brisk 42 off 37 balls and gave good support to Muzumdar.

Tripura collapse against Assam

Tripura collapsed against some fine Assamese bowling in their Ranji Trophy league match at Guwahati on Monday.

Winning the toss, Tripura opted to take first strike, but could not capitalise on the advantage. Only captain S Dasgupta and TK Chanda could contribute significantly with the bat. Dasgupta, opening the batting, made 52 off 120 balls, while Chanda struck 62 off 135 balls.

Assam wicket-keeper Samarjit Nath had a particularly fine day behind the stumps, completing six catches and one stumping. At the close of play, the visitors were 209 for eight. For Assam, MJV Ingty and J Gokulakrishnan took three wickets apiece.

Bengal face uphill task

Although Bengal is in little danger of losing, they also stand almost no chance of gaining the first-innings lead in their Ranji Trophy league match against Orissa at Baripada.

Orissa, resuming on Day Three on 575/5, added 96 more runs before declaring their innings closed. Prabanjan Mullick, overnight on 22, made an unbeaten 80, supported well by P Jayachandra and G Gopal. At 671/6, skipper Sanjay Raul finally ended the misery of the Bengal bowlers, three of whom conceded more than 100 runs in the innings.

Facing such a big total, Bengal lost Nikhil Haldipur and Arindam Das for just 57, but national find Deep Dasgupta and skipper Rohan Gavaskar took their side through to stumps without any further mishaps, putting on 136 runs for the third wicket.

At the close of play, Dasgupta was on 82, while Gavaskar made 51. Bengal were 193/2 in 60.1 overs.

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