Mukesh regains top slot

He was in superb form as he made three birdies, on the fourth, eighth and 11th holes, dropping just one stroke all day, on the seventh, where he mishit his tee shot. ‘‘The course is not playing easy, it is tough out there,’’ said a confident Mukesh. ‘‘Vijay was struggling, and my main aim all day was to keep the ball in play,’’ he added.

Vijay Kumar, who shot the best round of the day yesterday, did not have a similar luck and a second round 73 saw him drop to second place at 139. Following a 66 in the first round, Vijay bogeyed the second and faltered on the third hole today where he dropped two strokes. He dropped another stroke on the seventh and disastrous three strokes on the third again, the second time round when it was playing as his 12th.

However, a hat-trick of birdies on the eighth, ninth and tenth, follwed by an eagle on the 14th and a closing birdie on the last saw him finish in good form for the third round.

Digvijay Singh, who won the Royal Springs Open in Srinagar and the ColourPlus Open in Chennai earlier this year, was a further four strokes behind at 143. He shot an opening round 71, followed by a level-par this morning.

Amritinder Singh maintained his form, carding a second consecutive 72, which saw him placed fourth at the end of day’s play, one stroke ahead of Shamim Khan who carded rounds of 73, followed by a 72 today.

Meanwhile, Harmeet Kahlon showed his class today, carding a four-under, 68 to improve upon his first round score of 81, to move up the leader board. The cut was applied at 17-over-par, 161 at the halfway stage, the highest so far this season.