With nothing to lose,Railways go for broke

Even though the rest of his Baroda team-mates were being made to toil by the Railways batsmen.

Even though the rest of his Baroda team-mates were being made to toil by the Railways batsmen on Sunday afternoon,Munaf Patels decision to put his feet up and share a few jokes with the reserve players in the dressing-room didnt quite raise too many eyebrows. After all,not only had the premier fast bowler set up the Ranji Trophy quarter-final for his team with an incisive 29-over spell in the first innings; he had also scored 36 crucial runs in his own inimitable fashion while batting at No. 11 earlier on the third day.

Munafs 70-run stand for the last wicket with Sankalp Vohra

in fact had handed complete control of the match to the home team,who led by 168 runs by the time their first innings finished with 416 on the board. And with less than a week to go before he departs to South Africa to be part of the Indian team for the ODI-leg of their tour,the 27-year-old pacer only seemed to be enjoying a well-deserved rest in the pavilion.

The rest of the Baroda bowlers,however,wouldnt have minded having their spearhead shepherding them yet again as led by young Prashant Awasthi,the visitors launched an aggressive second-innings burst to ensure that the remainder of the match doesnt end up being a formality. With nothing much to lose in the match after having conceded a huge first innings lead already,the Railways batsmen decided to shake off their usual conservative approach and make Baroda work hard for their almost assured semifinal berth. Ending the day with a 52-run lead and six wickets in hand,and with Awasthi unbeaten on a 94-ball 85,Railways also gave themselves an unlikely chance of making a match of it going into the final day at the Moti Baug ground. Opening the batting again,Murali Kartik set the tone with an aggressive 28,before Shreyas Khanolkar,who scored 56,and Awasthi continued in the same vein.

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While his partners looked to adopt uncharacteristic means to keep up the early momentum,the slightly-built Awasthi,who hit 10 fours in all,never looked like he was hurried into any stroke. The 20-year-old right-hander more often than not kept the ball on the ground,while playing a number of exquisite drives and flicks. His composure at the crease,however,has been the most impressive trait of Awasthis batting,ever since he made a half-century on Ranji debut against Mumbai earlier in the season.

Having represented his home-state Uttar Pradesh till the under-15 level,it was only the immense competition back home that had pushed the Kanpur-born youngster to attend the Railways trials a few years ago.

And after impressing for their under-19 team with back-to-back centuries,Awasthi has so far enjoyed his promotion to the senior team,quickly establishing himself as a crucial figure in his teams middle-order. While Awasthi will be eyeing his maiden ton on the fourth day,the task of completing a turnaround,however,is very stiff for Railways. They will have to continue scoring quickly in the morning session and then take 10 Baroda wickets on a pitch which has seen even Munaf find the going easy.

Brief scores: Railways 248 and 220/4 ( S Khanolkar 56,P Awasthi 85, Vohra 2/49) vs Baroda 416 (K Devdhar 122,M Patel 36, S Bangar 3/62)

Karnataka tighten grip

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In Indore,Karnataka took a first innings lead of 161 runs against Madhya Pradesh before reducing them to 312 for seven on the third day. Replying to Madhya Pradeshs 200 all out,Karnataka started the day at 306 for eight to eventually get all out for 361 in their first essay.