Ranji Trophy | Railways toils as Tamil Nadu pulls away with a huge lead

Railways struggles against Tamil Nadu in Ranji Trophy match, facing a 209-run deficit and losing half their side.

It has been a tough couple of days for Railways. The host conceded a 209-run lead against Tamil Nadu and lost half its side for 169 runs in a Ranji Trophy Group-D match at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Friday.

The Railways players — who had to spend 133.3 overs fielding as TN amassed 438 in its first innings — were vocal and animated when several lbw and caught-behind appeals did not go their way.

The Railways contingent — with a non-verbal approach to convey its message — ‘clapped’ in unison, looking at the umpires as they walked off the field after the third day’s play.

TN’s S. Mohamed Ali (91, 174b, 10x4, 1x6), with valuable contributions from the lower-order, took the side’s overnight lead of 95 to above 200.

Mohamed played the ball to its merit in his superb innings and pieced together an 80-run stand with S. Ajith Ram for the seventh wicket.

Kunal Yadav (five for 133) removed Ajith Ram and S. Lakshay Jain in quick succession, and this changed Mohamed’s approach. He decided to farm the strike and go for boundaries with No. 10 Gurjapneet Singh at the other end. This saw the end of Mohamed as he was caught at long-on.

Railways may have thought it saw light at the end of the long tunnel.