MAHA vs SAU

Saurashtra beat Maharashtra by 43 runs, pocket six points.

A crucial win for Saurashtra as the defending champions put their title defense back on track. As it turns out, it was their first innings lead that proved to be the difference with Maharashtra being bowled out for 164 in the fourth innings - the same as what Saurashtra scored in the third. Parth Bhut was the destroyer-in-chief with his 7/44 blowing the hosts away. A series of unconverted starts brought about Maharashtra's downfall and while they stay on 11 points in Group A, Saurashtra have improved their tally to 16.

Stumps on Day 2 - Maharashtra 104/5 in the 2nd innings, need another 104 runs to win.

A result on the third morning looks inevitable between Maharashtra and Saurashtra. The hosts were skittled out for 159 in their first innings, handing Saurashtra a lead of 43. Soon though, Hitesh Walunj's ripped the defending champions apart with returns of 8/70 to send them crashing down for 164. A target of 208 is what loomed for the hosts and they rubbed off half the deficit while losing half the side. Siddharth Mhatre (11*) and Taranjeet Singh Dhillon (6*) are the overnight batters with skipper Kedar Jadhav still to come - can Maharashtra pull this off?

Stumps on Day 1 - Maharashtra 116/7, trail Saurashtra by 86 runs in the 1st innings.

A wicket-fest was headlined by 17 of them falling on the opening day at the Indira Gandhi Stadium in Solapur. Electing to bat first, defending champions Saurashtra were reduced to 54/5 before Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (72) and Prerak Mankad (56) rescued the innings with a sixth-wicket stand of 118. The rest crumbled though as Hitesh Walunj's six-wicket haul wrecked the visitors for 202, before Jadeja returned the favor with four wickets of his own. Kaushal Tambe (37) and Ankit Bawne (34) got off to starts that they failed to convert and with Maharashtra reeling at 116/7, they need to pull off something special on the second morning to take the lead.