Madhya Pradesh hold on for exciting draw

With only one wicket remaining, Madhya Pradesh batsmen pulled off anexciting draw against Railways in their Ranji Trophy league match atIndore on Sunday

Staff Reporter26-Nov-2001With only one wicket remaining, Madhya Pradesh batsmen pulled off anexciting draw against Railways in their Ranji Trophy league match atIndore on Sunday.Railways, declaring at 291/7, reached its second-innings total due tosome fine batting from its top three batsmen. Jai P Yadav (92), AmitPagnis (70) and Yere Goud (50) all scored fifties, with Goud remainingunbeaten till the end of the innings. A brief middle-order collapsewas brushed aside as S Raza Ali also contributed lower down the orderwith 40 off 51 balls.Set a target of 514, Madhya Pradesh had no option but to play for adraw. This too looked doubtful as wickets collapsed in a heap at thetop of the order. KS Parida, the first-innings hero, took three morewickets here, but skipper Sulakshan Kulkarni batted bravely (30*) withthe tail to ensure a draw for his side.Railways, by virtue of their first-innings total, pick up five pointsfrom this tie, while Madhya Pradesh pick up three.