New Delhi: An eventful Day 3 of the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy Round 1 witnessed Railways defending 93 runs to beat Uttar Pradesh by 21 runs in a Group A encounter. Saurashtra and Kerala also registered comfortable wins in their respective group matches even as only two overs were bowled at Cuttack on Sunday. (AS IT HAPPENED)
In Lucknow, the home side messed up the chase and got all out for 72 in their second innings. Railways rode on the brilliance of Avinash Yadav, who took four wickets to complete the unlikely win. Anureet Singh and Deepak Bansal helped with three and two wickets respectively.
In Rohtak, Saurashtra managed an innings and 31-run win over Haryana with seamers Jaydev Unadkat, Shaurya Sanandia and Chirag Jani sharing seven wickets among them.
The visitors bundled out Haryana for 140 in their second innings and help the team post an innings and 31-run win on the third day of their Group B Ranji Trophy match.
In Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala beat Jharkhand by nine wickets in their Group B match. Needing 32 runs in their second innings, Arun Karthik scored 27 runs to helped the home side register a convincing win.
In another key match, Delhi have taken complete control of their Group A match against Assam at Feroz Shah Kotla stadium. The visitors still trail Delhi by 117 runs with 7 wickets remaining in their second innings. Delhi scored 435. In response, Assam made 258 in their first innings.
Jammu & Kashmir have taken a 102-run lead with 4 wickets remaining in the 1st innings against Rajasthan at Jaipur. The Group B match witnessed Ahmed Bandy scoring a hundred with skipper Parvez Rasool contributing with 97 in a solid display of grit and determination.
At stumps, the visitors were 432/6 in response to Rajasthan's first innings total of 330 all out.
Despite Pathan brothers' combined effort, Baroda still trail Madhya Pradesh by 208 runs following on in Indore. Madhya Pradesh declared their first innings after posting 551/8. In reply, Baroda could muster only 302 in the first innings. At Day 3 Stumps, they were 41/1.
In Chennai, the Tamil Nadu-Andhra Group C fixture reached a decisive phase with the hosts still trailing by 21 runs 8 wickets remaining. Andhra took a 133-run first innings lead. At Day 3 Stumps, Tamil were 112/2.
In another Group D match, Chhattisgarh took complete control over Goa at Porvorim. The home side still need 235 runs with 6 wickets remaining in the 1st innings to make Chhattisgarh bat again in a high-scoring match.
Thanks to Prashant Chopra's 338, Himachal Pradesh can still afford to play a waiting game against Punjab. At Stumps on Day 3, Himachal still lead Punjab by 244 runs at Dharamsala. Himachal declared their first innings at 729/8. In reply, Punjab were 484/6.
At Palam, Bengal and Services were engaged in a high scoring Group D clash. Bengal declared at 552/9, and Services made 359 in reposnce. At Stumps on Day 3, Bengal were 77/0.
But rain continued to play spoilsport at Cuttack. The Odisha-Tripura Group C match started only today, but only two overs' play was possible. Tripura were 6/0.
