Railways in a spot after Kaul`s ton props up Punjab

Mohali: Railways were staring down the barrel at 89 for five after Punjab rode on stand-in skipper Uday Kaul`s sedate 131 to post 366 all out on day 2 of their Ranji Trophy elite division match on Wednesday.

Leading the side in the absence of Harbhajan Singh, Kaul slammed 17 boundaries before Krishnakant Upadhayay, who finished with seven for 76, ended the batsman`s 403-minute vigil at the crease. Much of Upadhayay`s good work was, however, wasted as Manpreet Gony played havoc with the visitors` batting line-up, picking up four wickets. Coming on as first-change bowler, Gony bowled Shivakant Shukla to trigger the slide. Shreyas Khanolkar had no answer as he edged Gony to wicketkeeper Kaul. Top-scorer in the visiting side, V Cheluvaraj, who seemed to be fighting a lone battle, was dismissed by Harmeet Singh for 35, before Gony had the experienced Yere Goud and Mahesh Rawat trapped in front to leave Railways in a spot of bother. At stumps, skipper Sanjay Bangar was unbeaten on 23, and giving him company was Jai Prakash Yadav, batting on eight. Earlier, resuming on 212 for three, Kaul, overnight on 82, was sensible in his approach as he guided his team to a competitive total after opting to bat at the PCA stadium. After Mandeep Singh fell for an addition of just 12 to his overnight 61, Kaul found an able ally in Amitoze Singh who crafted a valuable half-century. Amitoze`s 103-52 was laced with eight hits to the boundary. Brief Scores: Punjab 1st Innings: 366 all out in 146.1 overs (Uday Kaul 131, Mandeep Singh 73, Amitoze Singh 52; Krishnakant Upadhayay 7/76). Railways 1st Innings: 89 for 5 in 30 overs (V Cheluvaraj 35; Manpreet Goni 4/24). PTI