Anmolpreet Singh's unbeaten 252 propeled Punjab to 645 for 6 dec in Amritsar. This is Anmolpreet's second double-century this season, his previous being his career-best 267 against Chhattisgarh in Raipur earlier this month. In reply, Services were off to a shaky start as they finished the day on 130 for 4.
After a 99-run partnership with Shubman Gill (129 off 142 balls), 19-year-old Anmolpreet struck two century partnerships on the day - 146 runs with Gurkeerat Singh Mann and 125 runs with Abhishek Gupta - to take Punjab past 500 before lunch. He also stitched an 87-run stand with No. 7 Taruwar Kohli to push Punjab's total past 600.
Services, however, endured a top-order wobble as they lost their top three batsmen within 12 overs for 33 runs. It was the 72-run stand between the captain Rahul Singh and Nakul Verma for the fourth wicket that saved them from further trouble.
Amogh Desai (53*) and Keenan Vaz (40*) steadied Goa after Ashok Dinda's three-for rattled their line-up as they finished on 191 for 5 against Bengal on the second day in Kolkata.
Resuming from their first day score of 305 for 5, Bengal lost their overnight batsman Writtick Chatterjee in the day's fourth over. In the 96th over, medium pacer Heramb Parab struck back-to-back to remove Boddupalli Amit and Kanishk Seth. In the subsequent over, Lakshay Garg dismissed the overnight centurion Anustup Majumdar (119 off 208 balls), to finish with a four-for. Within the next three overs, Bengal were bowled out for 379.
In reply, Goa were off to a decent start and were 115 for 3 at tea, after which Dinda effected a couple of wickets, leaving them reeling at 130 for 5. It was Desai and Vaz who sparked the resistance to add a 61-run partnership for the sixth wicket.
The captain Faiz Fazal (125*) and Sanjay Ramaswamy (104*) struck a 237-run opening partnership to give Vidarbha the upper hand against Himachal Pradesh on the second day in Nagpur. The pair had earlier made the highest opening stand in the team's history, heaping 259 runs in the match against Bengal in the previous round.
Starting the day from their overnight score of 287 for 6, Himachal Pradesh surrendered within the first 18 overs for 353 on the day as Rajneesh Gurbani picked three wickets to finish with a six-for. In reply, Vidarbha saw a strong start, with Fazal and Ramaswamy bringing up their 150-run partnership shortly before tea, as Himachal bowlers found no respite.
