Railways had to follow on but Mumbai was made to earn its wickets in the second venture as the Ranji Trophy Elite Group ‘A' match entered a decisive phase at the Karnail Singh Stadium here.
Bowled out for 256 after resuming at 66 for three, Railways put up an improved display and compiled 121 for two with Faiz Fazal losing his wicket at the fag end of the day.
The pitch demanded disciplined batting and Railways was willing to dig in. Skipper Sanjay Bangar, four overnight, batted as he is known to. Resolute in his approach, Bangar was refreshingly aggressive when the ball begged to be punished.
“I had to play the leader,” said the modest Railways batsman. He did not miss out on scoring opportunities and was a delight to watch as he stepped out to greet the spinners, driving along the ground or taking the aerial route.
Eleven fours and three sixes marked his 174-ball essay that ended 11 runs short of a century. Bangar's dismissal was quite uncharacteristic — holing out to mid-off.
A late charge by Murali Kartik kept the Mumbai fielders busy. He picked the bad balls and the gaps with consummate ease to craft a 42-ball knock of 48 with six fours and a six that succeeded in reducing the deficit.
Off-spinner Ramesh Powar and left-arm spinner Ankit Chavan made an impression by claiming three wickets each.
Railways' second innings was bolstered by a fine essay from opener Shivkant Shukla. His unbeaten 64 off 102 balls with seven fours and a six kept Railways afloat.
The scores: Mumbai — 1{+s}{+t} innings: 483.
Railways — 1st innings: S. Shukla c and b Powar 31, S. Khanolkar c Gurav b Salvi 14, F. Fazal c Jaffer b Powar 12, S. Bangar c R. Sharma b Chavan 89, N. Bhille lbw b Chavan 29, M. Rawat st Gurav b Chavan 0, D. Salvi lbw b D. Kulkarni 9, J.P. Yadav lbw b Abdullah 15, M. Kartik (run out) 48, Anureet Singh lbw b Powar 1, R. Mali (not out) 0; Extras (b-2, lb-3, nb-3): 8, Total (in 78.3 overs): 256.
Fall of wickets: 1-22, 2-57, 3-58, 4-135, 5-135, 6-161, 7-182, 8-224, 9-255.
Mumbai bowling: Kulkarni 14.3-3-50-1, Salvi 11-4-11-1, R. Powar 20-3-76-3, Abdullah 20-2-79-1, K. Pawar 3-2-1-0, Chavan 10-2-34-3.
Railways — 2nd innings: S. Shukla (batting) 64, S. Khanolkar c Jaffer b Pawar 13, F. Fazal c Gurav b Yadav 34, Anureet Singh (batting) 0; Extras (lb-8, nb-3): 11, Total (for two wkts in 35.3 overs): 121.
Fall of wickets: 1-32, 2-121.
Mumbai bowling: Kulkarni 7-1-12-0, Salvi 6-0-23-0, R. Powar 11-1-36-0, K. Pawar 1-0-4-1, Chavan 4-0-22-0, Abdullah 3-0-10-0, R. Sharma 3-0-6-0, S. Yadav 3-0-0-1.
