Welcome to Sportstar‘s live coverage of the fourth day of the second round of the 2021-22 season of the Ranji Trophy.

Karnataka vs J&K | Abdul Samad has lit up the IIT Chemplast ground with his powerhitting. Races to his fifty with a six off Shreyas Gopal. He has struck five maximums and three fours. Ian Chauhan is nearing his hundred. J&K need another 272 for what can be best described as a historic win.

Saurashtra vs Goa | Odisha are currently five down for 136, still trailing Saurashtra’s massive first-innings score of 501 by 200 runs. Rajesh Dhuper and Abhishek Raut are at the crease.

Railways vs Pondicherry | Lalith Kalidas: Interesting to note that Railways has opted the left-arm spin of Akash Pandey from one end to complement seamer Mishra. On a hard deck in the first innings, Yuvraj Singh had done enough with the new ball to trouble a shaky Aravind in his first spell. As we speak, Pandey fires in a quicker one that thuds Aravind’s pads but misses leg.

Mumbai vs Goa | Amol Karhadkar: Welcome to Day 4. 1st over: Shams Mulani taps Shubham Ranjane on the on-side for a single to complete his 50. 2nd over: Lakshay Garg, with the shiny ball, manages a nick off Mulani’s edge to Amogh Desai at second slip. 324/8. Lead of 160. Every Goa huddle ends with a player chanting “Three, Two, One” before the others join in chorus “Goa”. In the last 10 minutes, we have heard “three, two, one… Goa” twice, before the start of play and after Mulani’s wicket. Kotian & Avasthi in for Mumbai.

Karnataka vs J&K | After an inspiring riposte on day 3, following an initial meltdown, J&K batters Abdul Samad and Ian Chauhan are now trying to put the Karnataka bowlers under pressure. Samad has raced to 41 off just 43 balls with three fours and four sixes. Meanwhile, Chauhan is nearing his 100. J&K 219/4.

Railways vs Pondicherry | Lalith Kalidas: Update: Railways has declared at 525/9 with a 183-run lead. Pondicherry to begin its second innings in an early 9-15am start, with a min. of 90 overs in the day. Pondicherry openers Neyan Kangayan and Aravind K walk out to the middle. Amit Mishra takes the new ball for Railways.

Pondicherry players limbering up ahead of the start of the final day’s play against Railways.   –  LALITH KALIDAS

TN vs Chhatisgarh | S. Dipak Ragav: Harpreet Bhatia gets to his 150 with a single to covers. Sandeep Warrier has 5 balls to Veer Pratap now. The leader of the attack needs to deliver. He has been erratic and given easy boundaries.

Railways vs Pondicherry | Lalith Kalidas: Good morning from Guru Nanak college. We enter the final day with Railways sitting pretty on a 183-run first innings lead (3 points in the bag atm). Focus will be on its seam trio –  Amit, Yuvraj and Rahul – as Pondicherry braces for a tough day out in the field.

Action will resume 15 minutes early on the final day to ensure all 90 overs can be bowled.   –  LALITH KALIDAS

TN vs Chhatisgarh | S. Dipak Ragav: Good morning from Guwahati. We may have the first on-time start of this encounter between TN and Chhatisgarh on the final day. No overnight rains. TN needs 2 wickets to take the first innings lead and then press ahead for a big win. Chhattisgarh is almost 220 runs behind.

The Tamil Nadu vs Chhatisgarh match got underway at 8-45 am with weather staying clear for the first time in four days.   –  S. DIPAK RAGAV

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The fourth day of the second round of India’s premier red-ball competition begins today.

All 38 teams will be in action, including defending champion Saurashtra, which squares off against Odisha in Ahmedabad. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane will once again be in action. They will be keen on extending their form from last game.

In another clash, Tamil Nadu, the Vijay Hazare Trophy runner-up, will play Chhattisgarh in Guwahati.