Tamil Nadu close in on three points as Railways struggle

A collective effort by Tamil Nadu`s seam trio of Laxmipathy Balaji, Jagannathan Kaushik and M Mohammed helped them reduce Railways to 152 for eight after scoring 246 in their first innings in a Ranji Trophy Group B encounter at the Jamia Milia Islamia ground on Sunday.

New Delhi: A collective effort by Tamil Nadu`s seam trio of Laxmipathy Balaji, Jagannathan Kaushik and M Mohammed helped them reduce Railways to 152 for eight after scoring 246 in their first innings in a Ranji Trophy Group B encounter at the Jamia Milia Islamia ground here on Sunday.

Railways still need 95 runs to take first innings lead but Tamil Nadu taking the last two wickets and getting a first innings lead to ensure three points and a safe passage into the quarter-finals. The trio of Kaushik (3/35), Balaji (2/24) and Mohammed (2/39) kept a tight leash on Railways batsmen as they could manage only 152 runs at an average of 2.41 per over. Actually, it is the ninth wicket partnership of 51 runs between left-hander Karn Sharma (50 batting, 3x4, 3x6) and Krishna Kant Upadhyay (12 batting) that helped them cross the 150-run mark after being reduced to 101 for eight inside 50 overs. Earlier, Ramaswamy Prasanna (117) completed a well-deserved century as Tamil Nadu`s tail-enders provided stiff resistance to take the score closer to 250. In-form Anureet Singh got another five-wicket haul as he took five for 67 in 35 overs to take his season wickets tally to 28. Brief Scores: Tamil Nadu 246 in 101 overs (R Prasanna 117, Anureet Singh 5/67). Railways 152/8 (Karn Sharma 50 batting, J Kaushik 3/35).