Nagpur: Cheteshwar Pujara made a century on his domestic return but Saurashtra still face a steep climb to overcome Vidharba's massive first innings total in the Ranji Trophy Group B cricket match here Thursday.
Saurashtra, resuming at 20 for 2, were 251 for five at stumps on day three in reply to Vidarbha's 583 for nine.
Pujara, who was disappointing against Australia in the Test series, was back amongst the runs with a solid 114 off 223 balls. Opener Sagar Jogiyani scored 81 and shared a crucial 185-run stand with Pujara.
Saurashtra still need 333 runs to earn the first innings lead, something that is unlikely to happen on the final day tomorrow.
Akshay Wakhare took three wickets for Vidarbha while Shrikant Wagh picked a couple.
Brief scores: Vidarbha 583/9 decl. Saurashtra (Cheteshwar Pujara 114, Sagar Jogiyani 81; Akshay Wakhare (3/61), Shrikant Wagh 2/54).
