Baroda derail Railways

But for the partnership between Karan Sharma 79 and Mahesh Rawat 67, Railways would have been in dire straits. The effort of the two batsmen was creditable but dropped catches too had a role in Railways8217; revival. Sharma and Rawat hit 20 boundaries between them.

Irfan stars

It was Baroda8217;s star pacer Irfan Pathan, whose 4/42 proved to be the best figures of the day, broke the partnership with a perfect incoming delivery that caught Rawat plumb in front. Left-arm spinner Rajesh Pawar accounted for Sharma, who was caught behind by Pinal Shah. This followed a collapse and the Railways were all out for 224.

Railway skipper Bangar termed it a fighting total. Besides, Pathan the other bowler to make an impact on Sunday was pacer Salim Veragi.

Pathan gave due credit to Veragi for his effort. 8220;He bowled a superb spell in the morning that backed my confidence,8221; he said. At the end of Day One Baroda had just opened their account as bad light forced curtains.

Brief scores: Railways 224 all out in 81.5 overs Karan Sharma 79, Mahesh Rawat 67; Irfan Pathan 4/42, Salim Veragi 3/51 vs Baroda 1/0.