Ranji Trophy: Kerala thrash Bengal by 9 wkts in Round 3

Kolkata: An impressive performance by Kerala saw them defeat Bengal by nine wickets in a group B encounter of Ranji Trophy Round 3 here on Thursday.

Needing 44 runs to win on the penultimate day, Bengal only lost opener Jalaj Saxena (26) in their pursuit.

In group C match, Odisha thrashed Assam by nine wickets. Needing 16 runs to win, Odisha lost opener Anurag Sarangi (5) before Govinda Poddar (9) finished off the things with ease. In the other match of the same group, Jharkhand needs 304 runs against Rajasthan to win. Alok Sharma (13) and Sumit Kumar (5) were at the crease when umpires dislodged the bails for the day as the host were 24 for no loss in Ranchi.

In another group A match, Chhattisgarh were trailing by 29 runs against the Railways as they ended the day at 1/2. Karan Thakkur picked up two wickets in his two overs.

In the other match of the same group, Gujarat lead by 163 runs against Saurashtra. Gujarat scored 187/1 with Priyank Panchal (124) and Bhargav Merai (35) remaining unbeaten at the end of the day.

In the third match of the group, Karnataka were at 81/3 taking a healthy lead of 276 runs against Mumbai. In another match, Baroda scored 288/7, trailing by 241 runs against Vidarbha on the third day. Pinal Shah (14) and Soaeb Tai (3) were at the crease when the day ended. In a group B match, Delhi were trailing by 215 runs against Hyderabad. Lalit Yadav (9) was at the crease at the end of the day. In other match between Madhya Pradesh and Punjab, the latter were 127/1, still needing 105 runs to win. Jiwanjot Singh (39) and Anmolpreet Singh (4) were at the crease when play ended.