Ranji Trophy: MP gain three points from drawn match against Mumbai

At the other end was teenager Sarfaraz Khan, with an unbeaten 52 after adding 106 runs for the fifth wicket with Iyer, who faced 181 balls and batted for 258 minutes.

MP, who took a handy 134-run lead on Wednesday by making 538 for seven in reply to the hosts’ 404 all out, declared this morning at the overnight score to try and beat the former champions outright but failed in their ploy.

Had 20-year-old Iyer been caught at gully by Ankit Sharma off Avesh Khan when Mumbai were on 42 for one, the visitors could have put some pressure on the home team, but the chance was grassed. The centurion Iyer and opener Aditya Tare (57) took the team’s score past the 100-run mark with a second wicket stand of 89 runs.

Tare and skipper Suryakumar Yadav (1), who hit a ton in Mumbai’s first innings, departed in quick succession on either side of lunch to raise MP’s hopes for a win.

But Iyer and Siddesh Lad (43) dashed their hopes with a stand of 95 for the fourth wicket.

For MP, medium pacer Puneet Datey was the most successful bowler with figures of three for 43 in 13 overs.

MP had to be content with three points from the game that took their overall tally to eight from five games, while Mumbai secured one point from the draw to increase their tally to 11.

Brief scores: Mumbai: 404 and 311 for four in 76 overs (Shreyas Iyer 142 not out, Aditya Tare 57, Sarfaraz Khan 52 not out; Puneet Datey 3/43).

Madhya Pradesh: 538 for 7 declared
Dinesh Karthik rescue Tamil Nadu with unbeaten century

Dinesh Karthik followed his first innings 92 with a match-saving 103 not out in the second to help Tamil Nadu walk away with one point against Bengal in their Ranji Trophy Group A cricket fixture in Kolkata on Thursday.

The out-of-favour India wicketkeeper stood like a pillar during his 128-ball knock (9×4), while opener K Bharath Shankar (58) and Baba Aparajith (68) contributed around him on an eased out Eden Gardens track to avoid an innings defeat after they resumed the day 128 runs in arrears.

Kathik completed his 21st first class century with a boundary off Abhimanyu Easwaran as both the teams agreed for a draw in the first over after the mandatory 75 overs with Tamil Nadu 327 for five under the fading lights on the fourth and final day.

Bengal logged three points on basis of their first innings lead but it was was of little help as they remained at the bottom with seven points.
The home team had a brilliant opportunity to secure an

Brief Scores: Tamil Nadu 246/9 and 327/5; 96 overs (Dinesh Karthik 103 not out, Baba Aparajith 68, K Bharath Shankar 58)  Bengal 454/9 declared.
Points Bengal 3, TN 1.

Baroda register convincing 10-wkt win over UP

Left-arm spinner Swapnil Singh registered his best bowling figures as Baroda registered a convincing 10-wicket win over Uttar Pradesh in a Group A Ranji Trophy cricket match on Thursday.

Swapnil scalped six wickets for 91 runs to help Baroda bundle out UP for 307 in 87.2 overs in their second innings and set a target of 33 runs for the visitors to chase.

Resuming their second innings at the overnight score of 122 for three after being enforced follow-on, Umang Sharma (62), skipper Piyush Chawla (57), Arish Alam (48) and wicketkeeper Eklavya Dwivedi made useful contributions with the bat but it was not enough for the hosts to save the match.

Swapnil spun the web around the UP batsmen to single-handedly rattle the home team’s innings. He was ably supported by Irfan Pathan (1/31), Bharghav Bhatt(1/38), Munaf Patel (1/28) and Deepak Hooda (1/3).

Baroda then chased down the paltry target in 5.4 overs with opener Saurabh Wakaskar (24 not out) scoring bulk of the runs, while his partner Kedar Devdhar remained unbeaten on 6.

Brief Scores: Baroda: 498 & 33 for no loss in 5.4 overs (Saurabh Wakaskar 24 not out). UP: 223 & 307 all out in 87.2 overs (Umang Sharma 62, Piyush Chawla 57; Swapnil Singh 6/91).