da esoccer bet： Gautam Gambhir might have just missed a hundred in the first innings,but he stamped his class on Mumbai at the Jamia Milia ground today
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan17-Nov-2003Delhi 199 and 223 for 9 (Gambhir 105, Kulkarni 4-76) leadMumbai 239 (Thakkar 71, Sarandeep 5-107) by 183 runs
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Gautam Gambhir might have just missed a hundred in the first innings,but he stamped his class on Mumbai at the Jamia Milia ground today. Ona raging turner he countered the Mumbai spinners effectively, and set up anintriguing finish on the final day. Just as in the first innings, Gambhirwas the vital pivot, and his 153-ball effort contained only seven fours. Thisinnings was not as flashy and sparkling as his first-day 96, but will be ascrucial in deciding the final outcome. On a pitch where the spin bowlershave snapped up 25 of the 29 wickets to fall so far, Nilesh Kulkarni and Sairaj Bahutule teased all the batsmen and were rewarded with 7 wickets between them. The match will hinge on the bowling of Sarandeep Singh and Rahul Sanghvitomorrow, but can Mumbai unearth a Gambhir from within their ranks?Railways 295 and 181 for 3 (Bangar 69*, TP Singh 50) leadKerala 321 (H Kumar 131, S Kumar 56*, Yadav 5-101) by 155runs
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Kerala have the two Kumars to thank for gaining a crucial first-inningslead by the end of the third day at Palakkad. Hemanth Kumar completed a grittyhundred, while Suresh hit a swift 56 to take Kerala to a respectable totalafter they were hobbling at 195 for 7 overnight. Finally Jai Prakash Yadavgot Hemanth Kumar to edge one to the keeper, then quickly polished off thetail to finish with a five-wicket haul. Railways, knowing that only anoutright win will suffice , finished the day on a high with a solid battingperformance, the highlights of which was Sanjay Bangar’s dour riposte to theselectors and TP Singh’s whiff of flamboyance. Railways will be aiming todeclare around lunchtime tomorrow, then bowl out Kerala within two sessions andgather the maximum points from the match.Punjab 312 for 3 (Ricky 102, Mongia 185*) trailUttar Pradesh 471 (Prakash 186, G Singh 4-97) by 159 runs
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With low-scoring matches and underprepared pitches seemingly being the order of the day elsewhere, the Punjab batsmen had a sumptious run-feast at Meerut. Ravneet Ricky and Dinesh Mongia continued their rich vein of form, both notching centuries as the teams jostled for the first-innings lead. At 1 for 2 Punjab were close to sinking, but Mongia, their captain, put on 284 runs with Ricky to take them to a position of strength. Mongia smeared 23 fours and three sixes in a glorious innings, while Ricky played the more sedate role, including ten hits to the fence. Despite their heroics, however, Punjab are still 159 runs adrift.Bengal 228 (Shukla 86, Ganesh 4-54) and 17 for 1 trailKarnataka 411 (Rowland 151, Paul 6-90) by 166 runs
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The Bengal batting has all sorts of problems … and then some. Last week they were bundled out by Rajasthan. Today they followed on against Karnataka, with only Laxmi Ratan Shukla providing a semblance of hope – he blasted a fiery 86, with eight fours and three sixes. Two former Indian bowlers were among the wickets: Dodda Ganesh, the seamer, picked up four, and Sunil Joshi snapped up three on a day when none of the batsmen were at ease. Bengal lost Deep Dasgupta early in the follow-on, and Karnataka could well be on the way to their first victory of the season.Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is on the staff of Wisden Cricinfo in India.