Ranji Trophy 2014-15: Piyush Chawla, Mohammed Saif keep UP afloat

New Delhi: Debutant left-hander Mohammed Saif batted with a lot of determination as his unbeaten 84 kept Uttar Pradesh in the hunt for three points against Railways in a Ranji Trophy cricket match. Saif along with veteran all-rounder Piyush Chawla (53 batting) added 101 runs for the unbroken eighth wicket stand as UP reached 266 for seven responding to Railways’ first innings total of 345.

Earlier, newly appointed skipper Praveen Kumar (6/74) knocked out the last Railways wicket early in the day to wrap up the innings at 345. In reply, UP lost the top six for less than 100 runs with only Praveen smashing 30 with five fours and a six in his customary style.

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The first notable partnership came when Ekalavya Dwivedi (42) joined Saif to added 70 useful runs for the seventh wicket. When Dwivedi was bowled by left-arm spinner Ashish Yadav, UP were still in trouble at 165 for seven and 31 runs needed to avoid follow on. But Chawla counter-attacked as he hit three sixes and five fours in 73 balls while Saif consumed 200 balls hitting 13 boundaries.

Brief Scores: Railways 345 (Mahesh Rawat 146, Arindam Ghosh 51; Praveen Kumar 6/74) lead UP 266/7 (Mohammed Saif 84*, Piyush Chawla 53*) by 79 runs.