Bangar sees Railways through to eight-wicket win

The fifth days play of the Ranji Trophy quarter-final between Railways and Tamil Nadu held no great surprises, with Railways winning by eight wickets at the Karnail Singh Stadium, Delhi, thereby qualifying for the semi-final.

Tamil Nadu centurion Sridharan Sriram added only 14 runs to his overnight total before being dismissed for 121, made off 187 balls with 15 fours. The only other batting contribution of note in the innings was that of Hemang Badani, who hit a rapid 56 off 46 balls, with five fours and two sixes.

Skipper Robin Singh declared the innings closed on 326/6, setting Railways a target of 180 for victory. His bowlers, however, ran into early problems, not being able to break the first-wicket partnership until 71 runs had been added.

Amit Pagnis was the first wicket to fall, scoring 42 off 75 balls. But TP Singh (43) and Yere Goud (25*) batted around an absolutely unflustered Sanjay Bangar, the first-innings double-century maker.

Railways got to their target in 57.2 overs, with eight wickets to spare. Bangar saw his side through to the win with a sedate 52 off 173 balls. He needn't have been so circumspect, though; Railways would have made it to the semi-finals even without an outright win.