UP inches close to Tamil Nadu total

Tamil Nadu was well in control of the match soon after lunch after taking five UP wickets for 51 runs. However, a crucial 89-run partnership between Mohammad Saif (77) and Upendra Yadav (36) helped it recover. Left-arm medium-pacer T Natarajan was the most successful TN bowler with three wickets.

Earlier, Tamil Nadu, resuming at 165/6 in the morning, lost its four remaining wickets for 15 runs as UP captain Ankit Rajpoot (4/60) and Saurabh Kumar (5/44) shared nine wickets between them.

Tamil Nadu needs to take the last UP wicket early to get the crucial first innings lead as the match is headed for a draw now after the first day was washed out.

In Mumbai, Karnataka defeated Mumbai by five wickets in their Elite Group B match, inside two-and-half days. This was Mumbai’s second consecutive loss at home, following its defeat against Railways.

It is also Karnataka’s fourth outright win against Mumbai since the 2013-14 season. Chasing 126 for an outright win, Karnataka openers R Samarth (34; 2x4) and Devdutt Padikkal (50; 5x4, 2x6) gave the team a solid start and the visitor was racing towards the target as they were 77/0 at lunch.

Samarth was batting on 27, while Paddikal was the more aggressive one, being unbeaten on 50. However, post lunch offie Shashank Attarde (4-52) pegged back the visitors by taking two wickets.

He trapped Padikkal in front of the wicket and then dismissed Abhishek Reddy (4) as Karnataka was 84-2. It became 91/3 as Shams Mulani cleaned up Samarth. Debutant Rohan Kadam (21) and skipper Karun Nair (10) brought the side on the cusp of a win when Attarde removed Kadam.

Karnataka needed eight more runs. In the same over, Attarde sent back Nair. Shreyas Gopal (5 not out) and B R Sharath (4 not out) took the side home without any further damage.

Earlier, resuming the day on 109/5, Attarde (10) joined overnight batsman Sarfaraz Khan (71 not out).

The two added 25-runs for the sixth wicket. Sarfaraz was playing a responsible knock as he kept on increasing Mumbai’s lead, but was falling short of partners. Left-arm pacer Prateek Jain (4-11) grabbed all the wickets in the morning session as he ran through the Mumbai’s lower order. Attarde’s resistance came to an end, after he edged a short-pitched ball in the slip cordon with Mumbai at 134/6. From 134/6, Mumbai’s innings ended at 149/9. It was already announced that Prithvi Shaw, who sustained a shoulder injury and was rushed to the National Cricket Academy on Saturday, would not bat in the second essay.

Jain gave a double blow to Mumbai in the 48th over, when he dismissed Tushar Deshpande (6) and Deepak Shetty (0). While Jain cleaned up Deshpande, he forced Shetty to nick. Last man Royston Dias (0) lasted just six balls as he too was cleaned up by Jain.

In Vadodara, Baroda thrashed Railways by 99 runs.

Brief scores: TN 180 all out in 63.4 overs ( L Surya Prakash 51, G S Raju 45, A Rajpoot 4/60, Saurabh Kumar 5/44) vs UP 170/9 in 66 overs (M Saif 77, U Yadav 36, T Natarajan 3/23, R Sai Kishore 2/38) Mumbai 194 and 149/9 (Sarfaraz Khan 71*,, Shams Mulani 31; Prateek Jain 4-11) vs Karnataka 218 and 129/5 (D Padikkal 50, R Samarth 34; S Attarde 4-52).

Karnataka 6 points, Mumbai 0 points.

At Vadodara: Baroda 201 and 98 vs Railways 99 and 101 (Karn Sharma 38; L Meriwala 6-25, A Sheth 3-43). Baroda won by 99 runs.

Baroda 6 points, Railways 0 points.