Prithvi Shaw followed up his breezy first innings fifty with a brilliant double hundred in the second innings in challenging batting conditions in Baroda on day three of the Ranji Trophy opening round fixture on Wednesday. Mumbai moved to a position of total command after skipper Suryakumar Yadav made up for missing out in the first innings with a blazing hundred, which came off just 70 deliveries.

Vidarbha’s Ganesh Satish also joined in on the act of scoring a double ton in Vijayawada as the reigning champions put Andhra to the sword to take a handsome first innings lead.

Saurashtra wrapped up a win in Dharamsala and Kerala further strengthened their grip over Delhi in Thumba.

It was also a landmark day for pacer Vinay Kumar, who now plays for Puducherry, as he joined a select brand of bowlers to take 400 Ranji Trophy wickets.

Here is a brief overview of the matches that happened during the day.

Shaw makes a statement

The topsy-turvy nature of the Baroda wicket hardly had an effect on Shaw’s approach at the crease after the hosts were bowled out of 307. The Baroda bowlers were sent on a leather hunt, with Shaw smashing them for fours and sixes aplenty.

Shaw got good support from opener Jay Bista (68) as the duo compiled a massive 190-run stand for the opening wicket. Baroda made a brief resurgence through the wickets of Bista, Shubham Ranjane and Ajinkya Rahane but normal service resumed when the in-form Suryakumar came to the crease. The onslaught continued and Shaw got to his double, a first for him.

Shams Mulani picked up his seventh and eighth wicket of the match to later dent the Baroda run chase.

Tables turn in Tamil Nadu-Karnataka encounter

At the end of day two, Karnataka were calling the shots in the contest in Dindigul and Tamil Nadu were on the backfoot, chasing a big first innings total. But veteran Dinesh Karthik then showed his brilliance with a classy hundred, rallying with his tailenders to narrow the deficit.

Karnataka still have a narrow first innings lead to work with and the points to take home, but pacer K Vignesh and Ravichandran Ashwin ran through the top-order to reduce them to 89/5 at the end of the day’s play. The eight-time champions still have a lead of 118 with the impressive youngster Devdutt Padikkal batting on 29. Paddikal and wicketkeeper BR Sharath built an important 30-run stand for the sixth wicket. But TN will have hopes to push for an outright win on the final day.

Saurashtra wrap up win

Saurashtra wrapped up a five-wicket win against Himachal Pradesh in Dharamsala, chasing down a 165-run target with relative ease despite batting mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara missing out for the second time in the match.

Prerak Mankad anchored the chase with a steady unbeaten 47 as last year’s runners-up got across the line with minimum fuss. Vaibhav Arora picked up three wickets for Himachal Pradesh.

Vinay steers Puducherry to victory

Veteran medium-pacer Vinay Kumar picked up four wickets to set up Puducherry’s win against Bihar at Patna. The 35-year-old also picked up his 400th wicket om the tournament, joining an elite brand of bowlers to get to the landmark. Experienced opener Paras Dogra came flying off the blocks and his 40-ball 42 took his team home with ten wickets to spare.

Ganesh Sathish’s moment

As the wicket flattened out in Vijayawada, Ganesh Satish made merry, slamming a stunning double hundred (237) as defending champions Vidarbha took control of the match against Andhra. Mohit Kale (82) and the rest of the batsmen merely rallied around Satish, who plundered the Andhra attack.

The 31-year-old was the last man to be dismissed in the Vidarbha innings. Left-armer C Stephen bowled with a lot of heart and picked up five wickets. The bowlers responded to Satish’s feat by removing Hanuma Vihari early. Andhra were at 100/2 at the close of play, but were still a whopping 130 runs behind.

More to follow....