Modi and Parthiv lead Gujarat reply

Gujarat 140 for 2 (Modi 66*, Parthiv 52) trail Railways 260 (Rawle 110, Parmar 4-63) by 120 runs
Scorecard

Half-centuries by Nilesh Modi and Parthiv Patel put Gujarat in a comfortable position after the second day of the Ranji Trophy Plate League final against Railways at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. After Railways had extended their first innings to 260, Gujarat closed the day on a 140 for 2, with Modi still at the crease on a patient 66.

Harshad Rawle had earlier reached his second first-class hundred to ensure that Railways added 58 more to their overnight 202 for 7. Rawle, resuming on 89, got valuable support from Santosh Saxena, the No. 10 batsman, after Harvinder Singh fell in the fourth over of the day. Rawle and Saxena added 44 for the ninth wicket before Amit Singh, the right-arm medium-pace bowler, had Rawle caught behind by Parthiv. Saxena fell soon after, giving Parthiv his sixth catch of the innings, and Railways were bowled out for a modest total after choosing to bat first.

Gujarat got off to a solid, if painstakingly slow, start. Modi and Rajesh Tabiar, the openers, added 53 in 30.5 overs, with Tabiar crawling to 14 from 104 deliveries before nicking one to the wicketkeeper off Sanjay Bangar. Parthiv came, and the scoring rate picked up, as the two added 87 in 33 overs. Parthiv's 52 took just 99 balls, and included a couple of glorious on-drives.

The pair seemed set to take Gujarat to the close of play without further setbacks, when Saxena struck, bowling Parthiv for 52 with only two overs left in the day. Mohnish Parmar, who had earlier taken four wickets in Railway's first innings, came out as nightwatchman and survived eight deliveries as Gujarat finished the day in a comfortable position.