Assam bowlers led by their strike bowler Krishna Das pegged Maharashtra to 160 for six on the third day of their group A Ranji Trophy encounter to keep their chances of qualifying for the knock-out rounds alive.
After Assam scored 298 in their first innings, in-form pacer Krishna took 4/58 as the hosts still need 139 runs to get three points from the match.
If Assam can manage three from this game, their chances of making it to the quarter-final will be alive as they will be on 25 points going into the last group league encounter against Bengal at home.
Starting the day at 223 for four, centurion KB Arun Karthik (130) and Gokul Sharma (76) added 162 runs for the fifth wicket stand before Assam lost their last six wickets for 45 runs.
Medium pacer Shrikant Mundhe (4/67) was the most successful bowler while Anupam Sanklecha, Dominic Mutthuswami and Samad Fallah got two wickets apiece.
In reply, Maharashtra lost three wickets for 60 runs with seamer Dhiraj Goswami accounting for two of them.
Save Rahul Tripathi (52) and to some extent Kedar Jadhav (36), none of the other batsmen showed stomach for survival.
Brief Scores: Assam 1st innings 298 in 105 overs (KB Arun Karthik 130, Gokul Sharma 76, Shrikant Mundhe 4/67)
Maharashtra 1st Innings 160/6 in 54 overs (Rahul Tripathi 52, Krishna Das 4/58).
