The Hindu : Sport : Madan Yadav puts Railways on track

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Friday, Apr 01, 2005

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Sport

Madan Yadav puts Railways on track

By Vijay Lokapally

CLASSIC SPINNER'S DISMISSAL: Madan Yadav removed Punjab opener Ravneet Ricky to give Railways the edge. — Photo: R.V. Moorthy

MOHALI, MARCH 31. Two crafty deliveries from left-arm spinner Madan Yadav opened new avenues for Railways to pursue against a strong Punjab batting line-up on the second day of the Ranji Trophy final at the PCA Stadium here on Thursday.

At close, Punjab was 159 for four in reply to Railways' first innings 355. Punjab was cruising thanks to its effective opening pair of Ravneet Ricky and Reetender Singh Sodhi when the under-rated Madan showed his exceptional skills to strike even as Railways grew desperate with the bowlers trying too hard and the fielders appealing for everything.

Hailing from Bhopal, Madan, whose quiet presence in the dressing room marks the youngster's approach, did not fail his team when it looked up to him. "He is capable of bigger deeds. Watch out for him," remarked Yadav's city-mate J.P. Yadav.

Sodhi, who batted 102 balls and hit eight fours, was in command as Punjab crossed the 100-mark without much fuss. Sodhi played some stunning shots but fell in a bizarre fashion, hitting the stumps and not the ball.

"I don't remember when I was out hit wicket," said the crestfallen Sodhi, who was soon joined by Ricky.

Ricky batted with plenty of flourish, as he produced some daring shots on the rise. He was willing to take the bowlers on and displayed his aggression in a 112-ball assault that contained seven fours and a six off Madan. Having just smashed the bowler for a straight drive, he attempted an expansive cover drive but his bat only swished in thin air as the ball curled past the willow to bend the off-stump. It was a classical spinner's dismissal, and brought Railways back into the focus.

Much depended on Ankur Kakkar but he came a cropper against Harvinder Singh. On this docile track, Harvinder produced a vicious rising delivery, which Kakkar fended to slips. The bounce had rattled the batsman but next man Gaurav Gupta had himself to blame as he padded up a straighter one from off-spinner Kulamani Parida, who replaced Madan in a well-thought tactical ploy by Railways skipper Sanjay Bangar.

Punjab skipper Pankaj Dharmani prevented any further damage by maintaining his ominous form that saw the senior batsman defy Mumbai in the semifinals.

Determined batting

Earlier, Railways prospered through Raja Ali's determined batting in the first session as the team resumed at 287 for five. The left-hander, who batted 193 balls and hit ten fours, lost Shreyas Khanolkar early but Sudhir Wankhede supported him in a seventh-wicket partnership of 53 runs before the latter succumbed to a floater from off-spinner Rajesh Sharma.

Fittingly, seamer Vineet Sharma accounted for Raja and added Parida's scalp to finish with a five-wicket haul.

The scores:

Railways — 1st innings: S. Bangar c Sanwal b Vineet 79, A. Pagnis lbw b Vineet 40, T.P. Singh c Dharmani b Sodhi 11, J.P. Yadav b Vineet 63, Raja Ali c Dharmani b Vineet 80, Yere Goud lbw b Singh 15, S. Khanolkar lbw b Gagandeep 9, S. Wankhede c Sanwal b Rajesh 35, Harvinder Singh b Rajesh 1, K. Parida b Vineet 0, Madan Yadav (not out) 0. Extras (b-2, nb-19, w-1) 22, Total (in 120.1 overs) 355.

Fall of wickets: 1-60, 2-77, 3-200, 4-213, 5-269, 6-292, 7-345, 8-355, 9-355.

Punjab bowling: Gagandeep 30-9-54-1, Vineet 28.1-6-91-5, Singh 23-0-79-1, Sodhi 7-0-53-1, Sanwal 10-1-31-0, Rajesh Sharma 20-4-42-2, Ankur Kakkar 2-1-3-0.

Punjab — 1st innings: R. Ricky b Madan 47, R.S. Sodhi hit wkt b Madan 51, A. Kakkar c J.P. Yadav b Harvinder 2, P. Dharmani (batting) 24, G. Gupta lbw b Parida 13, Munish Sharma (batting) 13. Extras (b-2, lb-5, nb-2). Total (for four wkts in 59 overs) 159.

Fall of wickets: 1-102, 2-109, 3-109, 4-136.

Railways bowling: Harvinder 15-4-37-1, J.P. Yadav 15-4-45-0, Bangar 8-0-20-0, Madan Yadav 15-8-25-2, Parida 6-0-25-1.

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