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Bangar saves Railways the blues
By and large, it was going to be a day of inconsequential cricket because Punjab had already decided which way the teams were headed after taking first-innings lead against Railways in this Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match, reports Shubhodeep Chakravarty.
By and large, it was going to be a day of inconsequential cricket because Punjab had already decided which way the teams were headed after taking first-innings lead against Railways in this Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match.
Things unfolded in just that manner, except for the fact that Sanjay Bangar had to draw on all his experience to save Railways from embarrassment. His unbeaten knock of 115, however, was not enough to take his team into the quarter-finals.
Resuming at the overnight score of 16 for one, Railways lost two quick wickets in the first session. Rajwinder Singh and Rahul Sharma tried to finish the game by tea but Bangar had other plans.
With a win out of the context, Bangar looked composed showing the full face of his bat to most of the deliveries. With Harshad Rawle at the other end, Bangar grafted his way through.
His innings included three sixes, one of which was sent miles behind the sightscreen. Rawle on the other end looked set for a half-century but he mistimed a shot only to find Vishwas Bhalla at short mid-wicket.
By then, however, both teams had resigned to a draw as the hosts had carved out a 100-run lead. The match was called off with Railways on 230 for four, half-an-hour before the scheduled close of play.
Bangar was happy with his century but disappointed with the single point that his team took from the game. “I am happy with my form but the team has had a lot of misfortune this season. It is not an individual game and that is reflected by our position.”
Railways coach, Abhay Sharma, was not too happy with the performance of some of his other experienced players.
“We needed some of our key players to fire in this game but that did not happen. You can’t give the opponent a 100-plus lead on this wicket and especially not to the tail-enders,” he said.
Although he refused to name names, the indications were clear. Murali Kartik took only two wickets in his 54 overs while Punjab’s Rahul Sharma picked up seven on the same pitch.
