Jaymeet Patel struck a fine half-century but Mayank Dagar (4/62) and Mukul Negi (3/71) shared seven wickets to leave the contest evenly poised as Himachal Pradesh restricted Gujarat for 247 and reached 63 for 2 at stumpsrich711, on day two of their final Ranji Trophy round-robin clash on Friday.  (Highlights | More Cricket News)

Resuming at 44 for 2, Gujarat managed a narrow 32-run first-innings lead with useful contributions from Jaymeet (55), Manan Hingrajia (45) and Hemang Patel (41).

In response, Himachal Pradesh, who were bowled out for 215 in the first innings, reached 63 for 2 with Prashant Chopra (29) and Innesh Mahajan (11) at the crease.

Himachal Pradesh lead by 31 runs and with two days remaining, a result is likely in favour of both the teams who are competing for the second quarterfinal spot in the group.

Earlier, Gujarat failed to build steady partnerships. Overnight batter Hingrajia added 47 runs with Jaymeet after the early dismissal of Umang Kumar (11), but once the former was dismissed by Negi, wickets continued to fall at regular intervals.

Urvil Patel (22) was trapped by Dagar, Jaymeet was caught by Rishi Dhawan off Bedi, and Vishal Jayswal (23) was adjudged leg-before by Negi.

Hemang Patel then provided some resistance, hitting two fours and four sixes in an entertaining 41 off 46 balls, helping boost Gujarat's total.

In Nagpur, opener Tanmay Agarwal’s magnificent century put Hyderabad in control as they took a 136-run first-innings lead while posting 326, and reduced Vidarbha to 56 for 2 on day two.

Vidarbha, who had already secured their quarterfinal spot, were bowled out for just 190 in 55.5 overs. Tanmay’s 136-run knock, which included 13 boundaries and a six, anchored the Hyderabad innings and dashed Vidarbha’s hopes of making a comeback.

At stumps, Atharva Taide (20) was at the crease after Aditya Thakare’s dismissal on the last ball of the day.

Vidarbha still trail by 80 runs with eight wickets remaining.

The first quarter started off on a very strong note for South Korea as they displayed a very attacking brand of hockey. Jihun Yang also converted a penalty corner to give them the lead. 

Starting the tournament as clear favourites, Paris Olympics bronze-medallists India haven't disappointed so far, beating hosts China 3-0, Japan 5-1, trouncing Malaysia 8-1 before registering a 3-1 victory against Korea in their last match.

In Vizianagaram, Andhra conceded a 38-run first-innings lead after being dismissed for 220 but Rajasthan were left struggling at 95 for 7 in their second innings at stumps, courtesy a four-wicket haul from Prithvi Raj Yarra.

Resuming at 49 for no loss in reply to Rajasthan’s 258, Andhra could not capitalise on their strong start, with KS Bharat’s 52 being the only significant contribution.

Prithvi Raj (4/34), Satyanarayana Raju (1/20) and Tripurana Vijay (2/17) raised their game when it mattered and Andhra will hope for early breakthroughs on Saturday to stay in the contest.

At stumps, Ajay Kookna (17) and Arafat Khan (12) were at the crease with Rajasthan leading by 133 runs.

In Ahmedabad: Himachal Pradesh 215 & 63 for 2 in 22 overs (Prashant Chopra 29*; Vishal Jayswal 2/24) lead Gujarat 247 all out in 90.2 overs (Jaymeet Patel 55; Mayank Dagar 4/62) by 31 runs.

In Nagpur: Vidarbha 190 & 56 for 2 in 19.5 overs (Atharva Taide 20; Mohammed Siraj 1/11) trail Hyderabad 326 all out in 91.4 overs (Tanmay Agarwal 136; Parth Rekhade 3/51) by 80 runs.

In Vizianagaram: Rajasthan 258 & 95 for 7 in 35 overs (Abhijeet Tomar 31; Prithvi Raj Yarra 4/34) lead Andhra 220 all out in 57.1 overs (S Bharat 52; Manav Suthar 4/65) by 133 runs.

In Puducherry: Puducherry 427 all out in 151.5 overs (Mohit Kale 202*; Deepak Dhapola 5/71) lead Uttarakhand 77 for 1 in 28 overs (Ravikumar Samarth 37*; Sagar Udeshi 1/27) by 350 runs.rich711