Bhubaneswar, Jan 24 (IANS) Tamil Nadu opener S.R. Athish struck a career-best 88 to anchor his side’s charge for victory on Day Three of their Elite Group A clash against Odisha in the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 at the KIIT Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Saturday.

Athish, who had made a scratchy maiden fifty in the first innings, looked far more assured in his second knock, while Sonu Yadav built on his maiden five-wicket haul with a brisk 74 as Tamil Nadu were bowled out for 316, setting Odisha a daunting target of 455. At stumps, Odisha were at 47/2 in 15.3 overs, with a win for Tamil Nadu looking a possibility.

Meanwhile, in Anantapur, Andhra strengthened their push for the quarterfinals by closing the day’s play at 93/1 against Vidarbha. Andhra need 166 more runs with K.S. Bharat and Shaik Rasheed unbeaten on 27 and 50 respectively in an unbroken 78-run stand.

Vidarbha, the recent Vijay Hazare Trophy winners, will rue their failure to post a bigger total after being bowled out for 191 in their second innings. Yash Rathod top-scored with 56 but lacked support from the other end as Andhra’s bowlers, led by K. Saiteja’s four wickets, dismantled the visitors.

Nitish Kumar Reddy, Saurabh Kumar, and Tripurana Vijay chipped in with crucial strikes to keep Andhra in control. With the bright start they had to their chase, Andhra will fancy their chances of chasing the target on the final day.

Meanwhile, in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh ended the day’s play at 69/7 in 23 overs and trail Jharkhand by 316 runs. Uttar Pradesh was forced to follow on after being bowled out for 176 in their first innings in response to Jharkhand's 561/6 declared. Madhav Kaushik (9) and Vipraj Nigam (1) are at the crease, but a heavy defeat is inevitable for Uttar Pradesh.

--IANS

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