Shivakant Shukla’s off-stump went for a walk while Suresh Raina failed to negotiate the low bounce as the ball sneaked through his defence. Parida, fighting a knee injury, bowled tight and his first break came off a viciously turning delivery that found Mohammad Kaif’s edge. Harshad Rawle’s took him at slip while Parvinder Singh, caught in two minds to a full-pitched delivery, saw his timber being disturbed. The batsman was deceived in flight.

But Murali Kartik was a bit disappointing; he even got a good purchase from the wicket but could not strike. Similarly, Kaif only managed to better his first-innings nought, but could not make a big impression on their rivals.

At this stage, the game is nicely poised with UP leading by 274 runs. Railways have no option but to go for full points, unless of course the light forces an early curtain on the match.

Brief scores: UP 346 and 118/4 (Tanmay Srivastav 51 batting, Kulamani Parida 2/7) vs Railways 200 (Yere Goud 78 no, Mahesh Rawat 39; Piyush Chawla 5/33, RP Singh 3/81)