Rasool, Ram Dayal tons boost J&K

Centuries from Parvez Rasool and Ram Dayal lifted Jammu & Kashmir from 266 for 6 at the start of the second day to a formidable 497. Baroda's openers then gave the side a solid start, scoring half-centuries and adding 116 runs before close of play.

J&K lost overnight batsman Samiullah Beigh in the second over of the day but Dayal and Rasool pitched in with a stand of 143 for the eighth wicket. Rasool brought up his sixth first-class century during the stand, before his dismissal for 136 off 175 balls with 16 fours. The J&K lower order did not fold; instead, Ram Dayal shepherded the last two wickets and added another 84 runs. Dayal's unbeaten 124, his maiden first-class ton, came off 192 deliveries with 15 fours and a six. For Baroda, left- arm spinner Swapnil Singh took a career-best 6 for 152.

In response, Saurabh Wakaskar and Kedar Devdhar's opening partnership reduced Baroda's deficit to 381 runs.

Railways' seamer Krishnakant Upadhyay's 7 for 98 limited Karnataka's first innings to 247. However, late wickets from Stuart Binny and Abhimanyu Mithun helped Karnataka claw back into the game, as Railways finished the day at 105 for 4, trailing by 142 runs.

Karnataka began the day at 207 for 7 and could add only 40 runs to their total before being dismissed. Thirty-three of those runs came from CM Gautam who offered resistance with 64. However, Upadhyay struck to take all three remaining wickets, including the last two off successive deliveries.

Railways lost opener Rohan Bhosale for 5 in the second over, but stabilized through a 58-run stand between Abhishek Kaushik and Nitin Bhille. Kaushik contributed 59 to the team's total before his dismissal left the side wobbling at 92 for 4.

Madhya Pradesh built their first innings from a promising position of 250 for 4 to a strong 432, riding on centuries from Jalaj Saxena and Devendra Bundela and a swift, unbeaten 62 from Ankit Sharma. Ankit gave his team another advantage by picking up all four of Tamil Nadu's wickets as they reached the score of 112 by close of play.

MP began the day at 250 for 4, and Saxena and Bundela extended their partnership to 120 runs before Malolan Rangarajan struck in quick succession to get rid of Saxena, Rameez Khan and Ankush Bains to leave the side at 343 for 7. Ankit and Bundela then added 55 runs for the eighth wicket and after Bundela fell for 104, Ankit kept the scoreboard ticking with 76-ball knock that included six fours and three sixes. Rangarajan finished with a first-class best of 7 for 135.

Ankit then made quick inroads, reducing TN to 20 for 3 before breaking a promising 65-run partnership between Abhinav Mukund and Baba Indrajith.

Shardul Thakur dismantled the Uttar Pradesh line up to finish with a six-for for the second time in successive games and limit their score to 206. However, Mumbai found themselves in yet another shaky position, after they had been reduced to 42 for 3, losing Abhishek Nayar just before the close of play.

UP began the day at 115 for 1 but lost Prashant Gupta to Thakur off the first ball of the day. Two overs later, UP were 115 for 3 as Thakur got rid of Umang Sharma. Parvinder Singh and Tanmay Srivastava tried steadying the innings with a 29-run stand but Singh's dismissal, to Wilkin Mota, triggered a slide that saw UP lose three wickets for two runs within two overs,Thakur contributing with a double strike. UP folded for 206, losing their last four wickets for 24 runs.

Mumbai were struggling at 10 for 2 by the fourth over but Hiken Shah and Abhishek Nayar tried forging a stand. However, Nayar's dismissal in the penultimate over of the day left Mumbai further weakened.