Shivakant stars for Railways with century

Left-handed opener Shivakant Shukla scored the fifth first-class century of his career as Railways reached 239 for four at stumps against Rajasthan on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy group league encounter.

Shivakant batted for more than six hours to score a patient 109 off 250 balls with 14 boundaries and a six. He added 146 runs for the fourth wicket with Parag Madkaikar, who is batting on 70.

Opting to bat at the Railways ground, Shivakant and other opener Amit Paunikar (31) added 55 runs for the opening stand before slow medium pacer Sumit Mathur got the latter caught by Saurabh Chouhan. Vairamudi Cheleuvuraj and skipper Sanjay Bangar were dismissed in quick succession as Railway were reduced to 90 for three.

Shivakant and Parag then steadied the ship with their partnership that lasted for more than 50 overs. Left-arm seamer Aniket Choudhary took two for 42.

Brief Scores: Railways 239/4 in 86 overs (Shivakant Shukla 109, Parag Madkaikar 70 batting, Aniket Choudhary 2/42).