A disciplined bowling performance from Mumbai saw Delhi dismissed for 251 in their second innings, leaving the hosts to get only 73 runs for a victory. Resuming on 52 for no loss, Delhi were looking in a strong position as first Akash Chopra (63, 166b, 7x4) and then Mithun Manhas (83, 124b, 9x4) looked to dominate. But the middle-order caved nevertheless, and Mumbai's openers made merry. The hosts cantered to a nine-wicket win and gained two points from the encounter. Vinayak Mane ended on an unbeaten 45 off 53 balls (eight fours) while Wasim Jaffer, the only casualty, made 28 off 40.

At Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh resumed on 274 for five and ultimately reached 352. Skipper MSK Prasad duly completed his century, going on to 130 off 202 balls (19 fours) before he fell to JS Yadav. Yadav picked five wickets for 87 runs and was the chief destroyer for Hyderabad on the third day. Hyderabad in their second innings reached 240 for three off 61 overs by the close of play, with Ambati Rayudu picking up where he left off in the first innings, making an unbeaten 70 off just 96 balls (nine fours, one six). He was accompanied by D Vinay Kumar (52, 110b, 11x4) at stumps.

In their encounter against Himachal Pradesh at Kolkata, Bengal continued their first-innings slide, dismissed for 171, with skipper Rohan Gavaskar ending on an obdurately unbeaten 58 (137b, 6x4). Offie Aashish Kapoor ended with five for 25. Himachal's second innings reached 208 for five by the close of play, with Vikram Rathour making 91 (194b, 11x4, 1x6) of those runs before being caught and bowled by Gavaskar.

At Jaipur, Rajasthan were still in the midst of their first innings by the close of the third day, ending on 282 for six. Rohit Jhalani was the only batsman to make a fifty (52 not out, 109b, 7x4), but a string of forties from the top-order batsmen kept the hosts in the hunt. Harvinder Singh and Kulamani Parida took two wickets each for Railways.

At Chennai, Tamil Nadu reached a daunting 427 all out, courtesy some sturdy batting displays from southpaws S Sharath and S Sriram. At one-drop, Sriram made 128 off 207 balls (15 fours), while Sharath became most prolific Ranji centurion for Tamil Nadu - overtaking Robin Singh - by making 101 off 204 balls (12 fours). A quickfire 50 (68b, 8x4) from J Gokulakrishnan enabled Tamil Nadu to breach the 400-run barrier by the close of the third day's play.

Punjab, at Cuttack, recovered from a precarious 141 for four to take the first-innings lead against Orissa, reaching 381 before being bowled out. Pankaj Dharmani made 81 (250b, 11x4, 1x6) Harminder Singh hit 87 (135b, 14x4, 1x6), and some welcome cameos from the lower order took Punjab to their total. Debashish Mohanty, for Orissa, ended with four wickets for 37 runs off just 26.5 overs. Orissa played out 3.5 overs to reach four for no loss by stumps.

Khurasiya makes sparkling double-century

At Indore, Madhya Pradesh were bowled out for 379 - a lead of 45 over Maharashtra - with skipper Amay Khurasiya making 237 (299b, 31x4). His was the final wicket to fall, and the next highest score in the innings was that of D Bundela, who hit a painstaking 75 off 226 balls. Maharashtra had almost erased the deficit by the close of play, but at a price; three wickets had fallen for 42 runs when stumps were called.

Haryana cantered to a seven-wicket win at Jammu over the hosts, experiencing no further hiccups in their chase of 82. Ajay Ratra and Shafiq Khan made 33 not out and 22 not out respectively as Haryana took only 9.2 overs on the third day to register their two points from the match.

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