Punjab gain healthy first-innings lead

Punjab were on course for an outright win over Assam at the end of day two of the five-day pre-quarterfinal between the two sides at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali. The hosts had reduced Assam to 53 for two in the second innings after securing a 187-run lead.

Resuming at 130 for three, Punjab were well-served by opener Ravneet Ricky, who pushed his overnight score of 46 to 88, before being dismissed. Later, Hari Krishan Kali (48) and Navdeep Singh (51) put on 76 runs for the eigth wicket and this was followed by debutant Ishan Malhatra run-a-ball 37 made with the aid of four fours. Malhatra's batting exploits follow his fine bowling performance on Wednesday; he claimed 7 for 59 in the Assam first innings. Punjab's final score of 357 meant that Assam were left to make 188 to avoid an innings defeat.

Opener Parag Das, who smashed 40 off 43 balls with nine fours, almost single-handedly ensured that Assam got off to a better start in their second dig. Assam will be looking to him and the rest of the batsmen to deliver to avoid an embarassing elimination.

Bengal reply off to a solid start

A half-century from Deep Dasgupta put Bengal on course for the first-innings lead against Rajasthan at the end of the second day's play at the KL Saini Ground, Jaipur. Dasgupta's, who made 57, and former India opener Devang Gandhi, who made an unbeaten forty, saw the visitors to 122 for two in reply to Rajasthan's healthy 321.

Earlier in the day, Rajasthan added 79 runs to their overnight score of 242 for five, courtesy a patient unbeaten forty from wicket-keeper Rohit Jhalani. The rest of the lower-order batsmen struggled against Bengal's veteran left-arm spinner Utpal Chatterjee. Chatterjee snared four batsmen and was the the pick of the bowlers on the day.

Bengal, in reply, lost Nikhil Haldipur early. But his opening partner Dasgupta and Gandhi combined well to put on 86 for the second wicket before Dasgupta was dismissed for a patient 57 off 129 balls made with the aid of five fours. When stumps were drawn, Bengal captain Rohan Gavaskar, batting on 5, was keeping Gandhi company.

Railways and Delhi locked in close battle

Spirited batting by the lower-order batsmen saw Railways rack up an impressive 497 on the second day of their match against the powerful Delhi side at the Karnail Singh Stadium, Delhi. The home team openers though provided their team with the ideal platform, putting up 61 unbeaten runs before stumps were drawn.

A patient 52 from Sudhir Wankhede and knocks of 42 and 45 not out from Murali Kartik and Zakir Hussain repectively, were mainly responsible for Railways adding 156 runs before losing their final five wickets. Last man Harvinder Singh also contributed his mite, scoring 26 runs as he and Hussain frustrated Delhi with a stand of 65 for the tenth wicket.

The massive Railways score had made it imperative for the Delhi openers to provide their team the ideal start and they did not disappoint. Akash Chopra and Gautam Gambhir were batting on 31 and 28 when stumps were drawn.

Mumbai secure wafer-thin lead

Mumbai managed to gain a slender four-run first innings lead against Tamil Nadu at the Guru Nanak College Ground, Chennai. But with a further three days of cricket to be played, the second innings of both teams would, in all probability, decide the winners in this low-scoring affair. That being the case, Tamil Nadu's end-of-the-day second innings score of 31 for one could be termed a step in the right direction.

Mumbai, who resumed at 16 for three in reply to Tamil Nadu's 182, were helped by useful cameos from Amol Muzumudar (23), Kunal More (30), Bhavin Thakkar (33), Robin Morris (39) and Rajesh Pawar (33). None of them though pushed on to make big scores and this meant that Mumbai could only secure the slenderest of leads. For Tamil Nadu, spinner Ashish Kapoor and fast bowler L Balaji, claimed three wickets each.

Tamil Nadu lost Sadagoppan Ramesh early but Sridharan Sriram and Hemanth Kumar ensured that they ended the day without suffering any further jolts. Friday, to state the obvious, will now prove to be the all-important day.

Gujarat in commanding position

Gujarat have played themselves into a commanding position against Andhra at the end of the second day of the pre-quarterfinal between the two sides at the Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad. The home side reduced Andhra to 46 for two after putting up 499 in the first innings.

In the morning, Gujarat, who ended the first day on 247 for two, suffered early jolts. They were reduced to 295 for five, before captain Mukund Parmar (89) and wicket-keeper Pallav Vora (65) got together and put on 121 runs for the sixth wicket. Vora, who played an aggressive hand, hit eight fours and four sixes before being dismissed. Parmar too followed soon after - his patient knock lasting 191 balls during which he hit 13 boundaries. Brief cameos of 37 from SG Bhatt and 23 from BN Mehta meant that Gujarat ended up with a substantial total. The Andhra bowlers compounded their misery by bowling as many as 26 no-balls and five wides.

The Andhra reply got off to the worst possible start with opener LNP Reddy being dismissed for no score in the second over. Star batsman Amit Pathak stroked as many five boundaries to take the Andhra score to 43. His dismissal after he had made 29 meant that Gujarat could troop of a satisfied team.

Hyderabad in driver's seat

Hyderabad were calling all shots at the end of day two their pre-quarterfinal against Himachal Pradesh at the Gymkhana Ground, Secunderabad. They were 288 for four in reply to Himachal Pradesh's 192 when stumps were drawn.

Earlier in the day, opener Daniel Manohar, who resumed on 28, duly went on to complete his hundred. He and his opening partner Nand Kishore extended their partnership to 131 before the latter fell for a patient 74. Manohar then went on to add 104 runs with Vinay Kumar, who made 24. 16-year-old Ambathi Rayudu, coming in at N0.4, was impressive in his debut match. Manohar raised his hundred in the youngster's company going on to make 111 before being dismissed. Rayudu, followed soon after, for 33. Anirudh Singh and Arjun Yadav calmly batted out the remainder of the day.

© CricInfo