Ghosh, Rawat hit half centuries as Railways reach 301/4

Lucknow: Arindam Ghosh (89) and Mahesh Rawat (83) struck unbeaten half centuries as Railways reached 301 for four against Uttar Pradesh on the opening day of their Group `B` Ranji Trophy match, here on Monday.

Electing to bat after winning the toss, Railways lost opener Abhishek Kaushik (7) early into their innings. Skipper Shivakant Shukla and Nitin Bhille (22) then put on 58 runs for the second wicket before the latter was trapped leg before by Piyush Chawla. Shukla (40) too departed after a few overs as Railways reached 81 for three. Next man-in, Ghosh then combined well with Rongsen Jonathan and stitched together a valuable 75-run partnership for the fourth wicket to take the visitors to a safety position. Jonathan fell five runs short of his half-century to medium pacer Imtiaz Ahmed. His 92-ball stay at the crease had eight hits to the fence. Jonathan`s dismissal brought Rawat at the crease and the wicketkeeper-batsman took the UP bowlers to task as he pull, drive and cut his way to an attacking half-century. Ghosh, at the other end, too completed his half-century as the duo raised an unconquered 135-run stand for the fifth wicket to frustate the host bowlers with their strokeplay. While Rawat hit 14 fours and two sixes in his 88-ball knock, Ghosh`s 164-ball vigil at the crease was decorated with 12 fours. For Uttar Pradesh, Ankit Rajpoot picked up two wickets while Imtiaz Ahmed and Piyush Chawla accounted for a wicket each. Brief Scores: Railways: 301 for 4 in 91 overs (Arindam Ghosh 89 batting, Mahesh Rawat 83 batting; Ankit Rajpoot 2/90).