Baroda take 1st-inngs lead but reeling at 204/8 in 2nd essay

Riding on superb bowling by Swapnil Singh (4/74), Boroda bundled out Karnataka for 302, thereby taking a slender 33-run lead on the third and penultimate day of their Ranji Trophy Group A cricket match here today.
However, defending champions Karnataka fought back by reducing Baroda to 204 for eight in their second innings at the close of play.
With the visitors now leading by 237 runs with just two wickets remaining, the game is poised for an interesting finish with both teams having a chance of posting a victory.
Having resumed at 235 for six, Karnataka came close to overhauling Baroda's first innings total of 335, with the help of some fine batting by the tail-enders, but in the end, they fell short.

Abrar Kazi (35 not out) and Abhimanyu Mithun (40) chipped in with crucial runs to keep their team's hopes of taking a lead alive but Baroda's left-arm spinner Swapnil foiled their plans.
In their second innings, Baroda got off to a poor start, losing both their openers Saurabh Wakaskar (0) and Kedar Devdhar (0) for a nought with paceman Arvind Sreenath (3/27) ripping through the top order with a three-wicket haul.

But first-innings centurion, Deepak Hooda came to Baroda's rescue with an all-important 67 (135b, 10x4) to prevent a complete collapse, adding 65 runs for the fifth wicket with Irfan Pathan (28).

However, Hooda's dismissal saw Baroda struggling again at 166 for eight before tail-enders Swapnil Singh (11 not out) and Gagandeep Singh (19 not out) denied further damage by putting on 38 runs for an unbroken ninth wicket.
Brief scores:
Baroda: 335 & 204 for 8 in 67 overs (Deepak Hooda 67, Arvind Sreenath 3/27, Ronit More 2/50).
Karnataka: 302 all out in 100.5 overs (Abrar Kazi 35 not out, Abhimanyu Mithun 40, Swapnil Singh 4/74, Gagandeep Singh 2/52).