Published: Dec 02, 2016, 12:50 PM (IST)
Edited: Dec 02, 2016, 12:50 PM (IST)
Out-of-favour Indian all-rounder Suresh Raina registered identical scores of 91 in both the innings, as Uttar Pradesh grabbed six points against Railways with a massive victory in the Group A match of the Ranji Trophy 2016-17. At the Saurashtra Cricket Association Ground in Rajkot — where the Indian team was involved in a thrilling contest with England a few weeks ago in the first Test — Uttar Pradesh had no qualms in prevailing over their opponents with a dominating display across four days.
Having taken a vital lead of 45 runs in the first innings, Uttar Pradesh scored a formidable 330 in their second innings, setting a 375-run target against Railways. But in their reply, Railways could not even cross the 200-run mark despite their lower order providing some resistance. Karn Sharma scored 35, Avinash Yadav 43 and Anureet Singh a quickfire 28, but Railways were bowled out for mere 155 in 61.5 overs. Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers for Uttar Pradesh, claiming 4 for 33. Right-arm pacer Praveen Kumar and Imtiaz Ahmed grabbed 2 wickets each while Ankit Rajpoot claimed one.
Earlier in the game, Uttar Pradesh scored 259 in their first innings, and bowled out Railways for 214. Arindam Ghosh scored 58, but the star of the innings was Imtiaz with a five-wicket haul. Apart from Raina’s 91 in the second essay, Uttar Pradesh were also powered by a splendid 124 by Shivam Chaudhary. Karn claimed 5 for 71.
Brief scores:
Uttar Pradesh 259 and 330 (Shivam Chaudhary 124, Suresh Raina 91; Karn Sharma 5 for 71) beat Railways 214 and 155 (Karn Sharma 35, Avinash Yadav 43; Praveen Kumar 2 for 22, Imtiaz Ahmed 2 for 39, Kuldeep Yadav 4 for 33) by 221 runs
