Swarupam Purkayastha

Veteran left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat produced a sensational four-wicket haul, while Prerak Mankad put on an allround show as Saurashtra thrashed Karnataka by five wickets to sail into the Vijay Hazare Trophy final here on Wednesday.

Delhi's batting woes persisted in their Ranji Trophy match against Assam. After Assam posted 330, thanks to Sumit Ghadigaonkar's 162, Delhi ended day two at 214 for six. Key contributions came from Sanat Sangwan and Yash Dhull. Swarupam Purkayastha's 3/46 for Assam caused trouble for Delhi, who trail by 116 runs.

In a battle of the bottom-placed teams in Elite Group B of Ranji Trophy, Bihar are facing another loss while a hapless Assam are sniffing their first win of the season.

Tamil Nadu finished Day 1 of their Ranji Trophy match against Assam at 299 for 7. C Andre Siddharth top-scored with 94, narrowly missing out on a century, while Vijay Shankar contributed 76. Assam's bowlers, led by Swarupam Purkayastha's 2/33, bowled disciplined lines to restrict Tamil Nadu after a strong start.

Left-arm pacer Barinder Sran and Bipul Sharma claimed three wickets apiece as Chandigarh defeated Assam by 21 runs to register their third consecutive win in the Plate Group of Vijay Hazare Trophy one-day cricket tournament on Friday.

On the back of their semifinal finish in the recently-concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy, a confident Assam will start their Ranji Trophy sojourn when they host Saurashtra in an Elite Group B fixture at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati from Tuesday.

Part time off-spinners Lalit Yadav and Nitish Rana shared six wickets amongst themselves as Delhi thrashed minnows Sikkim by 10 wickets in Vijay Hazare Trophy here on Saturday to keep their slim quarter-final hopes alive.

Assam Cricket Association (ACA), on Wednesday night, announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming Ranji Trophy matches that will commence from December 13 across the country.

Kedar Jadhav hit a brilliant century and Naushad Shaikh missed his ton by a whisker as Maharashtra produced a solid batting display to amass 352-5 against Assam at stumps on the first day of their Group B Ranji Trophy match on Monday.

Medium-pacer Anupam Sanklecha registered his best bowling figures in first-class cricket to help Maharashtra stand on the verge of an innings win against Assam in a Group B Ranji Trophy match on Wednesday.

Domestic cricket stalwart Jalaj Saxena destroyed Bengal with career-best figures of 9/68 as the visitors found themselves on the brink of a second successive defeat in the Ranji Trophy Group D in Thumba, Kerala on Sunday. Resuming on 172/8, Bengal managed to add just eight runs to their overnight total with the veteran all-rounder adding two more wickets to his name. The 37-year-old now has 439 wickets and has 6600-plus runs from 138 matches in first-class cricket.

Centuries by opener Ravikumar Samarth and Krishnappa Gowtham helped Karnataka reach 427 for 6 and secure a 282-run lead at the end of day two in the Ranji Trophy Group A match against Assam on Sunday.

Jay Gohil scored a sensational ton on his first-class debut as visitors Saurashtra raced to 313 for three wickets at stumps on Day 2 of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B opening-round match against Assam at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday.

Assam, missing captain Riyan Parag, scored 235/5 against Bihar. Openers Musaraf and Hazarika put up a 45-run partnership. Musaraf and Thakuri added 129 runs for the third wicket. Bihar bowlers Gani and Yadav picked two wickets each.

Assam and Jharkhand romped home to contrasting wins in their respective matches of Vijay Hazare Trophy in Kolkata on Saturday to go to the top three of Group B with 16 points from five matches each.

In a cricket match, Hyderabad (a debutant) led Assam by 3 runs after quickly scoring 46 runs in 4 overs, including 3 sixes. Hyderabad's all-rounder, Rishav Das, took 2 wickets in the process. In the second innings, Assam were 182 for the loss of 6 wickets, with Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Riyan Parag batting 78. In the 46th over, he took 2 wickets, reducing Hyderabad to 171 for 9. However, debutant Bhagath Varma came on and hit 2 sixes and 1 four off Riyan Parag and helped Hyderabad cross the 200-run mark. In the 66th over, he was dismissed. Hyderabad were all out for 208. Brief scores: Assam 205, 1826 in 39 overs, Rishav Das 34, Riyan Parag 78, Swarupam Purkayastha batting 22, Bhagath Varma 214, Rahul Buddi 35, Riyan Parag 448, Mukhtar Hussain 362.

The in-form duo of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ankit Bawne slammed scintillating hundreds as Maharashtra earned a maiden entry into the final of Vijay Hazare Trophy with a 12-run win over Assam on Wednesday.

Tripura were in command from the first day and it took them less than an over to chase the 8-run target on the final day and add seven points to their kitty.

Assam will be led by medium pacer Abu Nechim Ahmed, as Orissa and Bengal too have named their respective squads for 2011 edition of the Buchi Babu cricket tournament.

Opener Abhijeet Tomar struck a maiden unbeaten century to complement their bowlers' stunning effort as Rajasthan defeated Punjab by six wickets in a group E match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy domestic one-dayers on Wednesday.