Swapnil Singh broke an eleven-year jinx as he scored his maiden first class ton, a knock of 164 without a blemish, to help Baroda take a massive first innings lead of 404 runs against Mumbai on day three of the Ranji Trophy Group C match here on Saturday.
And then Baroda had the hosts and 41-time champions on the ropes at 102 for 4, with Mumbai needing 302 runs more to avoid an embarrassing innings defeat in their landmark 500th Ranji game.
Overnight not out on 63 in a team score of 376 for four in reply to the hosts' meagre 171, Swapnil grinded the hapless Mumbai attack relentlessly during a stay of five minutes under seven hours as Baroda reached 575 for 9 before applying the declaration at the Wankhede Stadium.
The bearded Swapnil, bowling left arm spin, then produced a ripper to clean bowl young Mumbai opener Prithvi Shaw for 56, the ball pitching outside the leg and zooming to tilt the middle stump as the batsman offered a defensive shot.
Mumbai, faced with the daunting task of preventing an outright defeat, had lost captain Aditya Tare for 5 earlier and then surrendered two more wickets in fading light before Ajinkya Rahane (28) and Suryakumar Yadav (2) prevented further loss.
Gambhir fights lonely battle
Alur: Gautam Gambhir showed enormous patience during his undefeated 135 while some of the junior batsmen threw away their wickets as Delhi reached 277 for four at stumps on day three of the Ranji Trophy Group A game against Karnataka.
The home team's gigantic 649 still seems a long haul as Delhi would need another 373 runs on the final day to ensure three points.
With only six wickets in hand, this looks improbable.
For Delhi, the target will be not to get all out and prevent Karnataka from at least getting three points from the game.
With the pitch showing no signs of wear and tear, it will be difficult for Karnataka to push for innings victory even if they can fold Delhi's first innings by the first session Sunday morning.
Bengal staring at innings defeat
KAlYANI(WB): Vidarbha tightened their grip on the Ranji Trophy Group D match against Bengal, who still need 206 runs more to avoid an innings defeat at the Bengal Cricket Academy ground here on Saturday.
In reply to Vidarbha's mammoth 499, Bengal, resuming day three at 89 for three, were bundled out for 207 in the second session to concede a 292-run first-innings lead.
After enforcing follow-on, Vidarbha pacer lalit Yadav ripped apart the Bengal top-order.
He picked up the wickets of Abhishek Raman and Koushik Ghosh in three deliveries.
At stumps, the home team was struggling at 86 for three in their second essay.
Sudip Chatterjee was unbeaten on 40 with skipper Manoj Tiwary on 36.
Odisha defy Tamil Nadu
Cuttack: A determined display by the Odisha batsmen kept Tamil Nadu bowlers at bay as the host finished at 286 for 4 at the end of the third day's play in a Ranji Trophy Group "C" match here on Saturday.
Openers Natraj Behera and Sandeep Pattanaik frustrated the Tamil Nadu attack with a century stand. They mixed defensive play with attractive strokes in respose to the visiting team's 530 for 8 declared.
Panchal lead Gujarat's response
Rajkot: Priyank Panchal led Gujarat's gritty response to Saurashtra's 570, as the opener's 145 guided his team to 304 for four in their Ranji Trophy Group B match here on Saturday.
At stumps on the third and penultimate day, Rujul Bhatt and Chintan Gaja were batting on 75 and 12 respectively.