Praveen plays his role to perfection

New Delhi: The prankster in Praveen Kumar cannot be missed — whether he is on the field or off it. On Saturday Kumar giggled his way to an unbeaten 51 against Railways and took Uttar Pradesh to a fighting 275/8 after they had been reduced to 191/6 at the Karnail Singh Stadium.

Kumar provided ample proof of taking things in his strike when he straight drove Karan Sharma’s first ball after tea and then followed it with five more hits to the fence, easing the pressure off the visitors. In between, there was a silent 52-run stand with RP Singh in 45 deliveries. A spanking pull off Anureet Singh and a towering six over long on off Sharma were other shots of Kumar that drew acclaim.

And at the end of the day Railways coach Abhay Sharma rued giving away 40-odd runs in excess with Kumar scoring 35 of those.

But the same bowlers — Karan Sharma and Anureet Singh — had looked menacing earlier in the day, scalping three each. After a comfortable first half-an-hour — UP were 91/1 —when Suresh Raina suddenly saw Sharma consuming Shivakant Shukla and skipper Mohammad Kaif in two deliveries.

After the break, Raina himself, who had earlier hit Anureet for a couple of sweetly-timed boundaries through mid-on en route to his 50, fell to a perfect ploy — after three deliveries pitched short, Anureet bowled one up to catch the outside edge of Raina’s blade and was caught by Harshad Rawle at gully.

As for partnerships, Piyush Chawla and Bhuvnesh Kumar put together 66 for the sixth wicket, with the leg-spinner being the dominating partner in the post-lunch session with an 85-ball 47.

Kumar’s job has just begun. If he continues the way he batted on Saturday, he may have a few more surprises in store tomorrow. But his skipper’s dismissal for nought was the biggest disappointment of the day. “I had come to see Kaif batting, but I’m disappointed he got out early,” said Gloucestershire spinner Vikram Banerjee.

Brief scores: Uttar Pradesh 275 for 8 in 92 overs (Suresh Raina 66, Praveen Kumar batting 51, Piyush Chawla 47; Anureet Singh 3/60, Karan Sharma 3/59) vs Railways

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