Railways stage late fightback as Mumbai slip to 247/6 in Ranji Trophy tie

Mumbai, Nov 2 (PTI) Railways fought back with the late wickets of Sarfaraz Khan, Siddhesh Lad and Suryansh Shedge to wrest control from Mumbai, who reached 247/6 at stumps on Day One of their Group D clash in the Ranji Trophy here on Monday.

Mumbai skipper Lad and Sarfaraz had dropped anchor, adding 98 runs for the fourth wicket while going largely unchallenged, but Railways struck back thrice in quick succession to end the day on a high.

Himanshu Sangwan (3/32) had Lad (47 off 125 balls) playing one onto his stumps, while Adarsh Singh (2/60) got India batter Sarfaraz caught behind for 55 off 100 balls, including seven fours, in the 76th over.

Mumbai slid further when all-rounder Shedge hit one straight to Bhargav Merai at extra cover off Mohammed

Saif shortly before stumps.

At stumps, Akash Anand (16 not out) was accompanied by Shams Mulani (2 not out), with Mumbai in search of a big partnership.

On a cloudy day at the Brabourne Stadium, it was not all gloomy for “visitors” Mumbai, as they seemed to have batted with ease on a wicket with a tinge of grass.

Opener Divyaansh Saxena made 39 off 96 balls and added 109 runs for the first wicket, but Angkrish Raghuvanshi once again stole the show, hammering 11 fours and two sixes to score 78 off 122 balls. Raghuvanshi looked set for a big knock, but Sangwan ended his charge after lunch.

Musheer Khan (4) perished when he was caught behind by substitute wicketkeeper Suraj Ahuja off Adarsh.

Sarfaraz revealed that it was a difficult wicket to bat on.

“The wicket was not easy, the ball swung all day long. There is some turn as well despite the grass on top. It was not as easy as it might seem from the outside,” Sarfaraz said.

Sangwan, who led the charge for Railways, said it was important to regain control after a wicketless first session.

“The wicket was sticky early on. We tried a lot in the first session and the coach pulled us up as well, asking us to contain a little bit. We then came back with a basic plan to keep it tight,” Sangwan said.

Meanwhile, an unbeaten 138 from Pradosh Paul took Tamil Nadu to a strong position of 320 for four against Chandigarh.

Paul (138 not out off 215 balls, with 12 fours) found support from N Jagadeesan (52) and Baba Indrajith (51) as Tamil Nadu batters made merry on a conducive wicket.

Uttarakhand were 59 for no loss, trailing by 94 runs in the first innings, after bundling out Haryana for a mere 153 on the opening day of their fourth-round clash.

Mayank Mishra returned figures of 6/57, while Devendra Bora took 2/34 as Uttarakhand bowlers picked up wickets in a heap to seize control.

In Dharamsala, as many as 20 wickets fell in the first day’s play and Himachal Pradesh were left with a first-innings lead of 75 runs against Rajasthan.

Rajasthan were skittled out for a mere 78 in their first innings, with Abhishek Kumar taking 5/14 and Jitender Rana claiming 3/22. In reply, hosts Himachal Pradesh were bowled out for 153, securing a 75-run lead. Rajasthan were eight without loss in the second innings

Brief scores:

In Mumbai: Mumbai 247/6 in 83 overs (Angkrish Raghuvanshi 78, Sarfaraz Khan 55; Himanshu Sangwan 3/32, Adarsh Singh 2/60) vs Railways.

In Chandigarh: Tamil Nadu 320/4 in 86 overs (N Jagadeesan 52, Pradosh Paul 138 not out, Baba Indrajith 51; Bhagmender Lather 2/47) vs Chandigarh.

In Dehradun: Haryana 153 in 59.5 overs (Kanishk Chouhan 24; Mayank Mishra 6/57) lead Uttarakhand 59/0 in 32 overs (Aarav Mahajan 33 not out, Dega Nischal 25 not out) by 94 runs.

In Dharamsala: Rajasthan 78 in 30.3 overs (Karan Lamba 24; Abhishek Kumar 5/14) & 8/0 in 1 over trail Himachal Pradesh 153 in 40 overs (Ankush Bains 56, Pukhraj Mann 42; Sahil Dhiwan 5/50) by 67 runs. PTI DDV AM

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