Nagpur: Ishank Jaggi led Jharkhand's spirited fightback with his 15th first-class hundred, and helped his side take the crucial first innings lead against Gujarat at stumps on day three of the Ranji Trophy semi-final, here on Tuesday.

Jharkhand, who were trailing Gujarat's 390 by 176 runs with five wickets down before play began on day three, rode Jaggi's brilliance to end their first innings at 408.

Left-arm spinner and this season's leading wicket-taker, Shahbaz Nadeem (3/36), then put Gujarat under pressure in their second innings, reducing them to 100 for four at close of play and just 82 ahead going into day four.

But it was Jaggi's effort with the bat that allowed Jharkhand to comeback into the match. The 27-year-old, who scored his fourth century this season, has been instrumental in taking Jharkhand to their first ever Ranji Trophy semi-final, alongside Ishan Kishan and Nadeem.

Jaggi shared a 92-run stand with Kishan for the fourth wicket on Monday and today anchored a 70 and 97-run partnerships with overnight batsman Rahul Shukla (27) and Kaushal Singh (53) respectively.

Jaggi, who was overnight 40 not out, went on to make a memorable hundred. It was a rather entertaining innings with a 70 plus strike rate and comprising 15 fours and a six.

Kaushal too played his part well with a 92-ball 53, while Shukla frustrated the opposition with a 66-ball 27.

Veteran pacer R P Singh was the stand out bowler for Gujrat with a six-wicket haul. Gujarat were off to a bad start in their second innings with tournament's leading run-getter and first innings centurion Priyank Kirit Panchal being run out in the eighth over.

Gohil Samit (49) and Bhargav Merai (44) took the innings forward with a 69-run stand before falling to the guile of Nadeem. Captain Parthiv Patel fell cheaply lasting only 12 balls.

Jaggi has been the face of Jharkhand's batting for the last five seasons. He has rarely failed in a crisis, and his side was certainly in one on Tuesday. But Jaggi met the challenge and played with assurance.

Gujarat have largely relied on first-innings leads this season - they have just two outright wins - and have rarely been put under pressure. Here, there was real challenge. They had to both force the pace and also bat tactfully enough so that their bowlers had enough runs to defend on what could be a tough fourth-innings chase. This seemed to be playing on their minds and that backfired.

Gujarat's bowlers committed similar mistakes at the start of the day. There was considerable moisture on a chilly morning, but Rush Kalaria and Jasprit Bumrah were erratic - 40 runs, including seven boundaries, came in the first seven overs, five of those were hit by Jaggi.

Realising the need to stem the runs, the bowlers tried bouncers. But by overdoing it, Gujarat wasted opportunities to dig into the lower order in the first session, when there was still help off the pitch.

Captain Parthiv was unsure of whether to contain the lead or continue taking risks in search of a wicket. That gave Jaggi an advantage as he raced into the 80s. Out came the pulls and the cuts, but it was his wrist work that was most impressive. Jharkhand's intent to continue attacking after lunch fetched quick runs. They blasted four fours and a six in the first two overs after the interval to inch closer to Gujarat's 390.

Kaushal Singh's swift feet and solid timing helped him secure a half-century, but his technique against pace wasn't entirely convincing. This loophole was exposed when Bumrah got one to straighten and square the batsman up to beat the outside edge and hit the top of off stump.

In Rajkot, Aditya Tare played a captain's knock, while Abhishek Nayar and Shardul Thakur complemented their fine bowling effort with half-centuries to help Mumbai take the all-important first-innings lead over Tamil Nadu. Tare made a fine 83 off 181 deliveries with the help of nine boundaries to held together Mumbai's first innings.

He was ably supported by Nayar (58) and Thakur (52) as Mumbai made 406 in their first innings in reply to Tamil Nadu's 305 before being bowled out at stumps on the third day of the five-day encounter.

Mumbai now enjoy a lead of 101 runs over Tamil Nadu with the match interestingly poised with two full day's play remaining.

Nayar (4/66) and Thakur (4/75) were the star bowlers for Mumbai earlier, as they picked up eight wickets between them during Tamil Nadu's first innings.

Resuming at the overnight score of 171/4, Mumbai lost Shreyas Iyer (36) early.

But then Tare and Nayar joined hands and the duo shared 121 runs for the sixth wicket to take Mumbai to a strong position.

Right-arm medium pacer Vijay Shankar turned out to be the pick of the bowlers for Tamil Nadu with figures of four for 59 from 20 overs.

SUMMARISED SCORES

In Nagpur: Gujarat 390 & 100/4 (S. Nadeem 3/36). Jharkhand 408 (I. Jaggi 129, K. Singh 53; RP Singh 6/90).

In Rajkot: Tamil Nadu 305. Mumbai 406 (A. Tare 83, A. Nayar 58, S. Thakur 52; V. Shankar 4/59).