Railways falter after a good start (Ranji Roundup)
By IANSTuesday, December 15, 2009
NEW DELHI - A middle-order collapse saw Railways falter after a great start against Punjab on the opening day of their must-win Ranji Trophy Super League match here Tuesday.
At stumps, Railways were 191 for six after Faiz Fazal made 87 off 88 balls at the Karni Singh Stadium here.
Fazal hit 13 fours and two sixes and it was leg-spinner Rahul Sharma (5-58) who took a catch off his own bowling to end the left-handed batsman’s onslaught. Sharma also got his first five-wicket haul in the Ranji Trophy.
Railways need at least five points from this match and only an outright victory can help them to seal a quarter-final berth. Punjab, on the other hand, need only a point to advance.
Nearly 31 overs were lost due to overnight and morning rain, which left a soggy outfield. Only three overs were possible in the morning before the interruption and match could be resumed only after lunch.
Brief scores:
At Delhi: Railways 191/6 (Faiz Fazal 87, Marripuri Suresh 31; Rahul Sharma 5-58) vs Punjab.
At Kolkata: Bengal 265/4 (Sourav Ganguly 11 batting; Wriddhiman Saha 106 batting; Parvinder Awana 2/55) vs Delhi.
At Dharmasala: Himachal Pardesh 125 all out. Orissa 55/2.
At Hyderabad: Hyderabad 269/4 (Ambati Rayudu 106, Anirudh Singh 75) vs Tamil Nadu.
At Poona: Maharashtra 288 all out. Baroda 11 for no loss.
At Mumbai: Mumbai 352/3 (Rohit Sharma 145 batting, Sushant Marathe 105) vs Gujarat.
At Rajkot: Saurashtra 216 all out. Karnataka 80/2.
