Railways buried under two tons

Bilakhia, coming at No. 3 was aggressive from the start, notching up his half-century within the first session, one which cost the Railways 117 runs. The skipper, digging in at the other end was batting on 36 off 107 balls at the other end.

Rubbing it in

By the second session, the sweeper became a compulsion as Bilakhia8217;s off-side strokeplay against off-spinner Kulamani Parida set the alarm bells ringing. Railways skipper Sanjay Bangar had all but run out of options as his best bet, Murali Kartik, had failed to thwart the pair.

While Williams8217;s was a chanceless effort, Bilakhia was dropped at short point by Harshad Rawle. The only similarity in their knocks was that they both crossed the nervous 90s cautiously, dealing in singles. Williams, who ended the day8217;s proceedings with a sweetly timed boundary to square-leg, said he was eyeing a 450-plus total.

For the hosts, it was a painful end to proceedings that had started promisingly when Sanjib Sanyal trapped Satyajit Parab in front in the 12th over of the day. Day Three doesn8217;t promise much for Railways, unless the track opens up miraculously to the spinners.

Brief scores: Railways 224 vs Baroda 265 for 1 in 91 overs Connor Williams 107 batting, Azhar Bilakhia 127 batting