Pagnis, Raza Ali steer Railways to facile victory

An unbroken fourth wicket partnership of 93 runs off 17.2 overs between AA Pagnis (58) and S Raza Ali (56) steered Railways to a seven wicket victory over Vidarbha in the Central Zone Ranji Trophy one day match at the Karnail Singh stadium on Thursday.

Batting first, Vidarbha were all out for 153 in 50 overs. Wickets fell at regular intervals and the only show of defiance came from opener AV Deshpande who scored 51. He faced 135 balls and hit four boundaries. TP Singh was the most successful bowler with four for 21.

Railways lost three wickets for 62 runs but Pagnis and Raza Ali made certain of a comfortable victory with 16.3 overs to spare. Pagnis faced 93 balls and hit eight fours while the more aggressive Raza Ali faced just 65 balls and hit nine of them to the fence.