Ranji Trophy: Railways, Karnataka set for a thriller

SURAT: An unbeaten fifty by Mohammed Saif gave Railways a glimmer of hope as they reached 209 for 8 in the second innings against Karnataka.

The effort helped them earn a handy 190-run lead despite conceding 19-run first innings lead to their opponents. But this could prove a tricky chase for Karnataka on Day 3 as it is without its best batter and captain Mayank Agarwal for this match. Karnataka was earlier bowled out for 174 in its first dig as two left-arm spinners Akash Pandey (5/63) and Ayan Chaudhari (4/39) shared the spoils. The well-oiled bowling unit of Karnataka did not give too many comfort moments for Railways in their second innings as they kept chipping away with regular wickets.

The first hint of Railways’ fightback came when skipper Pratham Singh (33) and Saif (51 batting) added 69 runs for the second wicket to rescue their side from a shaky 13 for two. After the departure of Pratham, snaffled by pacer Vysakh Vijaykumar, Saif made a further 44 runs for the fourth wicket with Sahab Yuvraj Singh (28). Saif played a support hand as Suraj Ahuja cracked a 68-ball 48 as Railways headed towards a substantial lead.

Pacer Vysakh was the pick of Karnataka bowlers with a three-wicket haul (3/45).