Ranji Trophy: Railways spoil Rajasthan’s victory push with gritty draw

JAIPUR: Echoing the outcome of their opening fixture against Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan once again settled for three points as their Ranji Trophy Group ‘D’ match against Railways ended in a draw at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium here on Wednesday, securing the advantage courtesy of a first-innings lead. Rajasthan's hopes of pressing for an outright victory were hampered by injuries to key bowlers. Pacer Akash Singh hurt his right hand while completing a caught-and-bowled dismissal of Mohammad Saif in the first innings, while left-arm spinner Ajay Kukna developed finger swelling, leaving him unable to bowl at full capacity.Resuming the final morning at 305/6, Railways folded within the first hour to finish their first innings at 338. Kukna emerged as the standout bowler with figures of 4 for 106, a stellar spell that earned him appreciation even from the opposition camp.Acknowledging his threat, Railways centurion Saif, who struck 103 not out off 118 balls (8x4, 4x6), said, “This pitch wasn’t really an outright result wicket and no bowler was that difficult to play. But I would specially praise Kukna, because taking five wickets in the last match and four wickets here is no easy feat. He puts a good loop on the ball.”Having restricted the visitors, Rajasthan enforced the follow-on. Railways quickly lost both openers when they came out to bat again in a hectic first session that saw six wickets tumble across the morning action, the only window where the bowlers extracted life from the surface. However, that early flurry proved to be the last twist in the tale.Any hopes Rajasthan harboured of forcing an outright victory on the placid track were firmly dashed by a third-wicket partnership of unbeaten 155, compounded further by the team's young and inexperienced bowling attack.Rajasthan captain Kartik Sharma acknowledged the team’s inability to extract wickets. “The plan was to get them out quickly and enforce the follow-on, and that's exactly what happened. But later on, wickets stopped coming. Plus, our bowlers Akash and Kukna got injured. Hopefully, Kukna will recover by the next match and we will know about Akash's status soon,” he added.Eshaan Goyal and Saif dug their heels in, frustrating the hosts through the remainder of the day. Goyal provided a watchful anchor with an undefeated 59 off 132 deliveries.With the surface giving bowlers virtually no room to maneuver, the match meandered to a tame draw as Railways safely reached 176/2 in their second innings when stumps were drawn.The Rajasthan captain backed his young pace attack, saying, “First of all, our bowling attack is not weak. And, we have to introduce young players into the side eventually, so we are looking ahead and building them. They need to be prepared and gain experience, and this is the exact time for our young bowlers to gain that exposure,” he explained.Rajasthan will next take on Uttarakhand in Dehradun from October 26.Stay updated with the latest Asian Games 2026 news, check the Asian Games medal tally and complete Asian Games schedule.Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.