Railways set Baroda
390-run victory target

Tail-ender Murali Kartik posted his season's best score to enable Railways set defending champions Baroda a daunting 390-run victory target on the third day of the Ranji Trophy final in Delhi on Friday.

Kartik complemented his five-wicket haul in Baroda's first innings, on Thursday, with a strokeful 69, the highest by any batsman in Railways' second innings, and was associated in an invaluable 77-run partnership for the last wicket with Harvinder Singh, who remained unbeaten on 34.

Railways, who started their second knock with a cushion of an 84-run first innings lead, were 229 for nine but Kartik ensured the tail wagged long enough to deny Baroda a chance to bat in their second knock on Friday.

Railways' innings finally folded at 306, with 1.2 overs remaining for the day.

Kartik hit seven fours, including two beautiful ones in an over by spinner Valmik Buch, and put to shame some of the top Railways batsmen by his intelligent play.

Harvinder Singh, at the other end, let Kartik indulge in strokeplay but also did not miss any chance to hit the loose deliveries. His unbeaten 34 included four fours.

Kartik, who scored 48 against Delhi in pre-quarters and 58 against Tamil Nadu in the quarters this Ranji season, was finally out when he was stumped by Nayan Mongia off Atul Bedade, but not before ensuring that Railways were placed on top in this all-important clash.

Kartik's knock was all the more special because he flourished on a turning track on which the stalwarts struggled. Prolific scoreres Amit Pagnis (39, 5x4, 93b) and Yere Goud (24, 4x4, 82b) disappointed the most, as, after getting off to decent starts, both batsmen gifted their wickets away in a reckless manner.

Standing tall amidst the top order ruin was Raja Ali, who overcame the tragic death of his 17-year-old brother last week, to post a well-made 66. He hit 10 delectable boundaries and a towering six over long on off Valmik Buch before succumbing to a Tushar Arothe delivery, being caught by Connor Williams at silly point.

Skipper Abhay Sharma, who has struggled all through the season with the bat, his highest being 65 against MP in the league stage, failed to click again as he was dismissed cheaply for nine by Shekhar Joshi, who had the batsmen caught at first slip by Martin.

Shreyas Khanolkar (4), Zakir Hussain (3) and Kulamani Parida (1) were out without troubling the scorers much, but Kartik realised the importance of garnering as many runs as possible given the potential of the Baroda batsmen and succeded in scoring what were bonus runs for his team.

Credit must go the Baroda bowlers who troubled the Railways batsmen on their home ground with their disciplined bowling. Joshi and Arothe emerged the most successful bowlers, scalping three wickets each.

With the pitch turning and the ball keeping low, a daunting task lies ahead for the Baroda batsmen in the next two days.

Scoreboard

Railways (1st innings): 253

Baroda (1st innings): 169

Railways (2nd innings):
J P Yadav lbw Joshi 4
A Pagnis c Mongia b Patel 39
Tejinderpal Singh run out 27
Y Goud c Patel b Buch 24
R Ali c Williams b Arothe 66
A Sharma c Martin b Joshi 9
S Khanolkar lbw Joshi 4
M Kartik st Mongia b Bedade 69
Z Hussain b Arothe 3
K Parida c Bedade b Arothe 1
Harvinder Singh not out 34
Extras (b-14, lb-3, w-3, nb-6) 26
Total (all out in 107.4 overs) 306.
Fall of wickets: 1/13, 2/66, 3/99, 4/155, 5/183, 6/187, 7/203, 8/223, 9/229.
Bowling: Rakesh Patel 31-11-66-1, Shekhar Joshi 23-5-64-3, Ajit Bhoite 17-4-48-0, Valmik Buch 19-6-44-1, Yousuf Pathan 2-0-12-0, Tushar Arothe 10-0-49-3, Atul Bedade 5.4-3-6-1.

Mail Cricket Editor