Left-hander rues his dismissal after making his first ton in two years for the Railways

It might have been his second match after returning to mainstream cricket, but for TP Singh, Tuesday was his real comeback for the Railways team. The 31-year-old batsman, who had joined the Indian Cricket League (ICL), hit his first first-class century in two years, and it couldn’t have come at a more opportune moment — both for the left-hander and his team.

After electing to bat in the Ranji Trophy match against Himachal, Railways were in a spot of bother with both their openers, Faiz Fazal and V Cheluvaraj, back in the pavilion. And with the Karnail Singh stadium pitch playing its part to perfection with its ‘true bounce’, Singh’s task was cut out. He took his time to settle down, but went on to play a sublime knock of 102, which included 12 hits to the fence and four towering sixes.

Along with vice-captain Yere Goud, Singh took the hosts to safety, after they were flirting with danger at one stage with three wickets down for 100. “I had to be patient early on. And once set, I was scoring freely,” he told Sportline after the end of the day’s play. Singh’s effectiveness against Himachal’s spin trio of Sarandeep Singh, Kuldeep Diwan and Vishal Bhatia can be measured from the fact that he was clearing the boundary at ease every time he stepped out, even as his partner Goud was hitting it straight to the fielders most of the time.

... contd.