Kochi: Elite 'C' is all set to clinch the Duleep trophy via the vital first innings lead after it restricted Plate 'B' to 309 for 9 in its first innings at close of play on the penultimate day of the Duleep trophy match on Saturday. Plate 'B' has the daunting task of making another 188 runs through the last wicket pair to surpass the rival's first innings total of 426 to upset Elite C's plans, which has better chances of winning the match on the first innings lead. If the match ends in a draw and Elite 'C' takes the vital lead on the first innings, Plate 'B' will finish runners up. The highlight of the day was former Indian player Vijay Bharadwaj's unbeaten 94 and his two fruitful partnerships, which helped Plate 'B' make 309 for 9. Bharadwaj, lucky to be dropped by wicket-keeper Pankaj Dharmani at 75 off medium pacer Siddarth Trivedi, added 61 runs for the fifth wicket with Sreekumar Nair (32) and realised 68 runs for the seventh wicket, along with Rakesh Dhruv (27). His invaluable knock included nine fours and came off 235 balls. For Elite 'C', lanky leg spinner Nilesh Kulkarni captured 4 wickets for 101, while off spinner Parida took 3 for 100. Earlier, resuming at 76 for no loss, Plate 'B' lost opener Sujith Somasundar, who added just two runs to his overnight score of 32. Thereafter, it lost wickets at regular intervals before Bharadwaj and Sreekumar did the recovery act. Captain Arun Kumar (overnight 41) looked to be shouldering the responsibility, but mistimed a turning ball from Kulkarni and was bowled for 78. In the other match at Chennai, Rohan Gavaskar led Elite 'B' scored a nine wicket win with more than a day to spare over Plate 'A' on the penultimate day of its four day Duleep Trophy match. Elite 'B' has completed its engagements with 18 points from four matches but had to wait till the outcome of the match between Elite 'C' and Plate 'B' now in progress in Kochi to know whether it finishes at number two or third spot. If the Kochi match ends in a draw both will finish as top two teams amongst the five in the fray. Both Elite 'C' and Plate 'B' have 16 points from three matches each and the team that takes the first innings lead will be the winner of the prestigious Duleep Trophy and the other, runners up. As for the day's encounter, Plate 'A' losing the match was written on the wall at the end of overnight play but it was able to delay the creditable win for Elite 'B', which was made to bat again to achieve an outright win. Plate 'A' made 244 all out in 71 overs. Overnight 74 for 2, Plate 'A' lost Ronald Barrington to the very first delivery of Amit Uniyal this morning but Rajiv Kumar (31-4 fours) and Yashpal Singh kept the rival bowlers at bay for over 20 overs adding 78 runs for the fourth wicket. Yashpal was at his best and made a career best 93 with the help of 11 fours and a six. Spinner Sairaj Bahatule dismissed four batsman in his single spell of 15 overs conceding 37 runs. Needing 51 runs to win, Elite 'B' reached the target in the eighth over. Amit Pagnis, who was unbeaten with 23 of 18 balls had hit five fours in a row of Tinu Yohanan's third over. Wasim Jaffer was 30 not out.

Tags: cricket, elite 'c', duleep trophy, plate 'b', vijay bharadwaj, pankaj dharmani, siddarth trivedi, sreekumar nair, rakesh dhruv, nilesh kulkarni, sujith somasundar, arun kumar, rohan gavaskar, elite 'b.