Mumbai, Nov 12: Mumbai were on 439 for the loss of five wickets in 109 overs in reply to defending champions Rajasthan’s first innings score of 530 at the end of Day 3 of a Ranji encounter between the two sides. Dhawal Kulkarni, who replaced the injured Abhishek Nayar at the crease with Mumbai 146 runs behind, was batting on 29 with Iqbal Abdulla on 10 when stumps were called.

Abhishek Nayar held up one end for Mumbai until he retired hurt after tea. The left-handed batsman was on the verge of surpassing his previous highest score of 156 against Delhi when he returned to the pavilion. Earlier in the day, he struck a 181-run partnership with Rohit Sharma and 130-run partnership with Suryakumar Yadav.

Rohit Sharma went on to score a 100 after getting a third life this morning while on 94. The charmed batsman, however, gifted a catch at mid-off to Vineet Saxena off Gajendra Singh just four balls after scoring his second consecutive ton of the tournament. The pre-lunch session, which yielded 187 runs, also saw Nayar score his century and Yadav register a quick half-century from 31 deliveries. The 21-year-old impressed with masterful strokeplay during his 68-ball 87. Finding the gaps at will, he hit sixteen fours and a six before falling to Vivek Yadav soon after lunch.

Yadav’s departure slowed down the scoring in the second session during which Mumbai added just 93 runs in 27 overs to their total. Onkar Gurav, who came in at the fall of Yadav, stitched a 51-run partnership with Nayar before tea was called. The Mumbai wicketkeeper scored 33 runs before being run-out at the non-striker’s end by Vivek Yadav.

Another casualty on the day was Rajasthan skipper and centurion Hrishkesh Kanitkar who sustained a fielding injury during the second session.

Other highlights of the day:

In another Ranji Trophy tie, opener Abhinav Mukund starred in Tamil Nadu’s run chase against Haryana’s first innings score of 348 all out. Propelled by Mukund’s 204, TN posted a first innings score of 403 all out; TN now have a lead of 55 runs without losing a wicket.

Karnataka beat Railways in Delhi by an innings and 51 runs with a day to spare courtesy a six-wicket haul by KP Apanna. The left-arm spinner had earlier claimed a five-for during Railways’ first innings. Robin Uthappa had scored 117 runs after Karnataka won the toss and opted to bat first.

Vidarbha have beaten Himachal Pradesh by three wickets; this was the second match of the day to have yielded a result.

Brief scores at the end of Day 3

ELITE-B :Baroda vs. MP at Baroda - MP 63 & 348-9 after 129.0 overs (TP Sudhindra 42*, A Sharma 1* ).Baroda 375-all out.

ELITE-A :Railways vs. Karnataka at Delhi - Karnataka win by an innings and 51 runs, Railway 134 & 162, Appanna (6-68) . Karnataka 347.

ELITE-A :UP vs. Saurashtra at Meerut - UP 362 & 175-4 after 58.0 overs, Kaif (55*), A Alam (53*). Saurashtra 281-all out in 92.0 overs (J Shah 112).

ELITE-A :Punjab vs. Orissa at Mohali - Punjab win by 8 wickets.Punjab 255-9d & 70-2 in 18.5 overs (Ravinder Singh 34*, MH Singh 26*).Orissa 251 & 73.

ELITE-A :Mumbai vs. Rajasthan at Mumbai - Mumbai 439-5 after 109.0 overs, Nayar 155 rtd. hurt (D Kulkarni 13*). Rohit Sharma departs for 100.Rajasthan 530 (152.2 overs).

ELITE-B :Tamil Nadu vs. Haryana at Chennai - Tamil Nadu 403 all out after 147.0 overs (A Mukund 204). Haryana 348-all out.

ELITE-B :Gujarat vs. Delhi at Valsad - Delhi 170-5 (f/o) in 51 overs & 233 all out.Gujarat 520-all out (142.5 overs).

PLATE-A :SSCB vs. Kerala at Trivandram - SSCB 253 & 89-5 after 37 overs. Kerala 249.

PLATE-A :Himachal vs. Vidarbha at Dharamshala - Vidarbha win by 3 wickets, 142 & 257-7 in 77.5 overs (HK Badani 83*, S Bahutule 61*).Himachal 195 & 200.

PLATE-A :Andhra vs. Tripura at Visakhapatnam - Tripura 24-5 after 17.3 overs & 174. Andhra 235 & 271-6 (dec).

PLATE-B :Assam vs. Goa at Guwahati - Goa 282-8 after 98.1 overs (R Pinto 116, AR Yadav 41*)*. Assam 195-all out in 82.0 overs.

PLATE-B :Hyderabad vs. Maharashtra at Hyderabad - Maharashtra win by an innings & 6 runs, Akshay D (8-20). Hyderabad 124 & 54-all out .Maharashtra 184-10 (63.1 overs).

PLATE-B :J & K vs. Jharkhand at Srinagar - Match stopped due to bad light - J & K 59-0 after 11 overs.