Ranji Highlights: Musheer Khan’s all-round show; Parth Bhut takes 6 for 7
Elsewhere, Tamil Nadu completed a chase of 130 after some early jitters
Best batting performances
Responding to Baroda’s imposing 616, Jammu & Kashmir’s batting was held together by skipper Qamran Iqbal. Seven batters were dismissed in single-digits, but Iqbal’s eighth-wicket stand with Umran Nazir, worth 75 runs, helped them get past 200. Iqbal hit 11 fours and five sixes in his 121. But Nazir wasn’t done. In the company of No.11 Rohit Sharma, he crossed 40 for the first time and smashed seven sixes en route to his maiden first-class century. It couldn't prevent a follow-on.
Innesh Mahajan (121) and Shubham Arora (96) put on a 173-run opening stand to lead Himachal Pradesh’s reply against Chandigarh’s 685/5d. Both hit 10 fours, with Mahajan also hitting a six.
Hyderabad’s Rahul Radesh, at 75* overnight, finished on 86, while Kodimela Himateja and Pragnay Reddy’s half-centuries took them to 380 against Punjab.
Karnataka’s Aneeshwar Gautam brought up his maiden first-class hundred from No.6 to solidify their lead against Tripura. Later, Manvanth Kumar continued his excellent form with a quick 51, while Ritesh Bhatkal brought up his maiden first-class fifty, finishing on 74*. From 285/7, they declared on 477/9.
Nishant Sindhu fought back against Mumbai with an unbeaten 105, with no one else from Haryana crossing fifty. Forced to follow-on, he remained unbeaten on 22 at stumps.
After Sibsankar Roy (100) and Denish Das (90) took Assam to 281, opener Hetvik Kotak (80) and Prerak Mankad (76) helped Saurashtra recover from a middle-order stutter. A 65-run tenth wicket stand helped them to a lead.
Karan Lamba’s unbeaten 100 and keeper Kunal Rahore’s 77 gave Rajasthan enough runs to declare against Uttarakhand. They now need 342 runs going into Day 4.
Chattisgarh's Amandeep Khare remained unbeaten on 74 as they narrowed the deficit against Andhra. They now trail by 15 runs with two wickets in hand.
Vidarbha’s veteran batter Dhruv Shorey struck 168, batting with half-centurions Danish Malewar and Akshay Wadkar to secure a first-innings lead before declaring against Goa.
Andre Siddarth’s unbeaten 56 headlined Tamil Nadu’s chase of 130 in a low-scoring game against Railways. They had slipped to 39/3, before Siddarth ensured there was no late drama.
Saurabh Nawale (95) and Harshal Kate (84) ensured a first-innings lead for Maharashtra against Gujarat. Opener Aarya Desai cracked his third first-class ton to push Gujarat ahead.
Nagaland were reduced to 145/9 against Sikkim, but keeper Chetan Bist’s valiant 97 took them to 208, bringing them back in the game.
Responding strongly to Meghalaya's 562, Mizoram No.3 Chinmay Sutar hit 125, while captain Joseph Lalthankhuma remained unbeaten on 70.
Techi Doria (160) and Salil Malhotra (135) brought Arunachal Pradesh back in the game against Manipur after having folded for 111 in the first innings.
Best bowling performances
A low-scoring game ended with a Tamil Nadu win after Sai Kishore led the way with 4-39, taking his match tally to seven.
Kerala’s Jalaj Saxena ran through Bengal to claim his 38th first-class five-fer, dismissing three of their top-five batters. Chasing a mammoth 408, he was then sent to open the batting.
After smashing a century, Musheer Khan took his maiden six-fer in first-class cricket, running through Haryana with figures of 6-85, which forced them to follow-on.
UP’s Zeeshan Ansari, who took a five-fer in the previous game, claimed four against Pondicherry to help secure a 161-run first-innings lead. With Yash Dayal and Kartik Yadav doing the early work, Ansari attacked the lower order, sparking a collapse from 120/5 to 138/8.
Saurashtra left-arm spinner Parth Bhut single-handedly cut through Assam in the second innings, reducing them to 65/7. He finished the day with figures of 9-5-7-6.
Goa seamer Ruthvik Naik took his maiden five-fer against Vidarbha, claiming quick wickets towards the end before the declaration came.
After rain washed out the first two days, Pulkit Narang’s 6-47 headlined Services’s bowling effort against Odisha, bowling them out for 194.
Manipur’s left-arm spinner Kishan Singha took five against Arunachal Pradesh, adding to his two wickets in the first innings.
