Left-arm medium pacer Cheepurapalli Stephen was the wrecker-in-chief for the hosts as he packed back four Delhi batters conceding only 47 runs while KV Sasikanth picked up two for 24 runs. Earlier, Andhra were bowled out for 368 in reply to Delhi's first innings total of 215 runs, who still trail by 64 runs with four wickets in hand with a day left in the contest.
Bengal registered an eight-wicket win over hosts Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram. The hosts set a paltry target of 48 runs before the visitors, who overhauled it with ease as skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran and Koushik Ghosh chipped in with unbeaten 15 and 19 runs respectively to help their side cross the line in 10.5 overs.
In reply to Hyderabad's 242, Punjab declared their innings at a healthy 443/6, thanks to skipper Mandeep Singh's unbeaten 204 and Anmol Malhotra's 80-run contribution. Apart from the duo, Anmolpreet Singh and Karan Kaila also chipped in with 54 runs each for Punjab, who later reduced their opponents to 30/5 at the close of play.
Rajasthan, who were bowled out for 260 runs in reply to the defending champions massive total of 510/8(d), were 12/3 at stumps in their second essay after being asked to follow-on. Rajasthan still trail by 238 runs against the hosts.
Uttar Pradesh were 29/1 at the close of play in their second innings against Karnataka, who were wrapped up for 321 runs in their first innings replying to their opponents 281 in Hubli.
After suffering a massive 309 run defeat in their first game against Mumbai, Baroda is likely to register a victory as they were 114/4 against Madhya Pradesh when the day ended and now need just 60 runs for a win. Krunal Pandya and Yusuf Pathan were batting on six and 19 runs respectively.
Railways, who had managed 248 in their first innings, ended the third day at 27/1 and still trail by 204 runs against Saurashtra, who had amassed a mammoth 479/9(d) in their first essay, thanks to Arpit Vasavada's unbeaten 134 and Cheteshwar Pujara's valiant 69-run contribution.
Tamil Nadu suffered their second consecutive defeat of the season as Himachal Pradesh outclassed them by 71 runs in Dindigul. The hosts succumbed against Akash Vashist, who returned with stunning figures of 7/33 in the second innings.
In the Elite Group C contest, Maharashtra need 172 runs for a win with five wickets in hand as they ended the third day at 192/5 against Jammu and Kashmir in Pune. Ankit Bawne was batting on 31 runs while his partner Anupam Sanklecha was yet to open his account for the hosts while Umar Nazir Mir and Mohammed Mudhasir scalped a couple of wickets each for the visitors.
After managing just 271 runs in their first essay while replying to Odisha's mammoth total of 540, the Services were 86/3 at stumps in their second innings after being enforced a follow-on in Cuttack.
Utkarsh Singh and Shahbaz Nadeem starred for hosts Jharkhand, who registered their second consecutive win in the ongoing season after hammering Assam by an innings and 67 runs in Ranchi. Both Utkarsh and Nadeem scalped four wickets each to wrap up the visitors at 186 runs in their second innings. Earlier, Jharkhand took a healthy 253-run lead as they posted 415/9 in reply to Assam's first innings total of 162 runs.
Uttarakhand trail by 226 runs after ending the third day at 174/3 in their second innings against Chhattisgarh in Raipur. Earlier, in reply to the visitors's paltry 120, the hosts had posted a mammoth 520/7(d). Dikshanshu and Saurabh Rawat were batting on 35 and 19 runs respectively at close of play.
After being asked to follow-on, Bihar, who could only post a paltry 115 in their first essay, ended the third day at 4 for no loss against Chandigarh, who had put up 420 runs in their first innings at home. Bihar still trail by a huge margin of 301 runs.
Puducherry, who had bundled out Sikkim for just 65 runs in their first innings and posted 446/8(d) in reply, kept the momentum going as they once again skittled out the visitors for 112 runs in their second essay to set themselves up for a comfortable victory by an innings and 269 runs.
Meghalaya ended the third day at 145/5 and still trail by 115 runs against hosts Goa, who had taken a 260-run lead in their first innings after posting 463 runs in Porvorim.
A collective bowling effort saw Nagaland wrapping up Manipur for 216 runs in their second innings to set up a convincing victory by an innings and 68 runs. Earlier, In reply to Manipur''s 116, Nagaland rode Shrikant Mundhe's 148 and Rongsen Jonathan's 79 to put up a healthy 400 in their first innings before they once again gunned down Manipur at a low total.
Samarth Seth's unbeaten 72 kept Arunachal Pradesh going, who were 143/3 at the close of play against Mizoram in Puducherry. Earlier, Mizoram took a 277-run lead after posting a massive total of 620/9(d) in reply to Arunachal's 343.
( With inputs from IANS )
