The Hindu : Railways rides on Yadav's century

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 27, 2003

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Sport - Cricket

Railways rides on Yadav's century

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI NOV. 25. J.P. Yadav came up with a timely 101 and put Railways firmly on way to an exciting three-wicket victory over Delhi in the Ranji Trophy Elite group match at the Karnail Singh Stadium here on Wednesday.

If Yadav and Sidharth Verma (38) raised 102 for the fifth wicket and kept Railways' winning chances alive, Yere Goud (26 not out) and Harvinder Singh put the finishing touches to the chase.

In fading light came Railways' brightest moment as it not only scored its first ever outright victory over Delhi, but also resurrected its chances of making the semifinals after gaining four points.

After three matches, Railways has a tally of six points while a depleted Delhi remained on two points — following a second successive defeat.

Needing to score 240 to win in 68 overs, Railways achieved the target off 62.5 overs. With victory just two runs away, the Goud and Harvinder pair attempted a second run and in the bargain gained four extra runs due to an overthrow.

This triggered off joyous scenes as the Railway team members, led by Sanjay Bangar, made a dash to the ground and hugged Goud and Harvinder.

By sheer coincidence, this was the same pair which took Railways past Delhi's first innings total on the second day. Today, they delivered the final blow, too.

But the man who made it all possible was Yadav. Before coming up with ninth century in Ranji Trophy and 11th in first class, Yadav took three wickets this morning even as the last four Delhi wickets took the score from the overnight 198 for six to a respectable 278.

Pradeep Chawla, overnight on 48, was the last-man out for 82, which includes eight boundaries. Abhishek Sharma (19, three 4s) and last-man Sanjay Gill (15 not out, three 4s) kept Chawla's company longer than expected.

Railways, despite losing openers Amit Pagnis and Sanjay Bangar with just nine runs on the board, did not give up the chase. A change in its batting order, with Yadav coming at number four, followed by Shreyas Khanolkar at five, with Goud coming down at seven, two places below his usual position, aptly reflected Railways' positive approach.

Yadav, who smashed medium pacer N.S. Negi for a six to open his account, saw the departures of Tejinder Singh (26, three 4s) and Khanolkar but found an able ally in Verma. The two put on 102 runs in 26 overs and brought Railways within striking distance of the target.

Delhi finally broke through when Verma sacrificed his wicket to save Yadav from being run-out. A little later, Yadav was bowled by Negi. The early exit of Sudhir Wankhede did not change the script as Goud and Harvinder took Railways to victory.

Brief scores: Delhi 195 and 278 (Pradeep Chawla 82, Vijay Dahiya 61, Salil Oberoi 36, Harvinder Singh four for 58, J.P. Yadav three for 43) lost to Railways 234 and 244 for seven (J. P. Yadav 101, Sidharth Verma 38).

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