Middle-order earns draw for Rajasthan against UP

A determined batting by their middle- order batsmen ensured that Rajasthan walked away with a draw but Uttar Pradesh grabbed three points by the virtue of their first innings lead in a Ranji Trophy Group B match, which ended on Sunday.

Jaipur: A determined batting by their middle- order batsmen ensured that Rajasthan walked away with a draw but Uttar Pradesh grabbed three points by the virtue of their first innings lead in a Ranji Trophy Group B match, which ended here on Sunday.

Chasing 361 to win, Rajasthan batted out the whole day, scoring 253 for six with at least three batsmen scoring half-centuries. Bist brother -- Robin and Chetan -- and Rajesh Bishnoi saved the hosts, who were reeling at 76 for four one stage after starting the day at 15 for no loss. Robin made 51, Rajesh 53 and Chetan remained unbeaten on 61 at Swai Mansingh stadium. The hosts lost openers Siddarth Saraf (5) and Vineet Saxena (21) cheaply as paceman RP Singh had the former caught behind. Imtiaz Ahmed removed Sexena and struck a vital blow to the hosts by dismissing rival skipper Hrishikesh Kanitkar (5). Ali Murtaza in between removed well-set Ashok Menaria (40) but Robin combined with Bishnoi to stabilise the innings. They added 93 runs for the fifth wicket before Arish Alam had Bishnoi caught by Murtaza. The two Bist brothers then batted together long enough to ensure that Rajasthan reach a safe position. Brief Scores: Uttar Pradesh 226 and 319 for 5 declared Rajasthan 185 and 253 for 6 in 93 overs.(Robin Bist 51, Rajesh Bishnoi 53, Chetan Bist 61 not out; Imtiaz Ahmed 3/48).