All-rounder Ramesh Powar slammed a fine 131 off 233 balls to help Ranji champions Mumbai to a respectable 388 on the second day of the 'Elite' Group 'A' Ranji Trophy match against Railways in Mumbai on Thursday.
In reply Railways, who were struggling at 38 for three at one stage, recovered to 103 for three off 52 overs at stumps, with skipper Sanjay Bangar and Shreyas Khanolkar were batting on 36 and 34 respectively.
The hosts, resuming at their overnight score of 236 for five, lost Amol Mazumdar after the addition of just seven runs.
Mazumdar (95), who added 92 invaluable runs for the fifth wicket with Powar in 40.5 overs, was caught in the gully by Khanolkar off medium pacer Zakir Hussain. He faced 226 balls in 372 minutes and had five hits to the fence.
Mumbai lost three quick wickets, that of Usman Malvi (9), wicket-keeper Vinayak Samant (2) and Swapnil Hazare (4) to Harvinder Singh before Powar and last man Munaf Patel (32 not out off 24 balls) added 76 runs in just 10.2 overs.
Patel, better known for his raw pace, hit five boundaries and a six in his breezy knock.
With wickets falling at regular intervals, Powar went for his shots before being the last man out, caught behind off Hussain after making 131 off 233 balls. He batted for 287 minutes and hit 12 fours and a six off J P Yadav and Khanolkar before departing ten minutes after lunch.
For Railways, former India paceman Harvinder Singh (three for 79) polished off the tail while Hussain (two for 50) and J P Yadav (three for 67) gave him good support.
Bangar and Khanolkar took a wicket each.
Former Mumbai Ranji player Amit Pagnis, who now plays for Railways, was the first to go when he slashed at a Munaf Patel delivery only to be caught in the slips by Wasim Jaffer for six.
T P Singh was the next to go when he charged out to drive Powar and missed the line completely to be stumped by Samant for 11, while J P Yadav drove Mumbai's third seamer, Swapnil Hazare, only to be caught by Muzumdar in the covers for six.
Bangar, who opened the batting with Pagnis and Khanolkar, however, steadied the slide with an unbeaten 65-run fourth-wicket partnership off 28.5 overs in 117 minutes.
Patel, Hazare and Powar bagged a wicket each.
Railways still need 288 runs to take the first innings lead.
Scoreboard
Mumbai (Ist Innings):
W Jaffer b J P Yadav 20
P Jadhav c S Wankhede B J P Yadav 6
B Thakkar c and b J P Yadav 35
A Muzumdar c Khanolkar b Z Hussain 95
V Kambli c and b S Bangar 19
S Bahutule c and b S Khanolkar 11
R Powar c Wankhede b Hussain 131
U Malvi b H Singh 9
V Samant c K Parida b H Singh 2
S Hazare c Wankhede b H Singh 4
M Patel not out 32
Extras: (1-b, 8-lb, 1-w, 14-nb) 24
Total: (all out in 125.1 overs) 388
Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-30, 3-94, 4-130, 5-151, 6-243, 7-270, 8-292, 9-312.
Bowling: H Singh 24-3-79-3, J P Yadav 33-11-67-3, Z Hussain 19.1-5-50-2, S Bangar 21-5-63-1, S Khanolkar 11-0-55-1, K Parida 15-2-54-0, T P Singh 2-0-11-0.
Railways (Ist Innings):
A Pagnis c W Jaffer b M Patel 6
S Bangar batting 36
T P Singh st V Samant b R Powar 11
J P Yadav c A Muzumdar b S Harzare 6
S Khanolkar batting 34
Extras: (b-4, lb-3, w-2, nb-1) 10
Total: (for 3 wkts off 52 ovrs) 103
Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-26, 3-38.
Bowling: U Malvi 9-6-16-0, M Patel 12-6-19-1, S Hazare 9-3-14-1, R Powar 11-2-37-1, S Bahutule 10-3-7-0, V Kambli 1-0-3-0.
PHOTOGRAPHS: Deepak Salvi
