After piling up 263 in the first innings, Railways had hosts Andhra on a tight leash, reducing them to 120 for 6 on the second day of the Elite 'A' Ranji Trophy match in Ananthapur on Thursday.

Resuming at 165 for 6, overnight batsmen Raja Ali (44) and Siddarth Joshi (37) pushed the score ahead for Railways with quick runs before a late charge by tailender Harvinder Singh ensured the team a healthy score of 263.

Andhra bowlers were not very effective but skipper Venugopala Rao impressed with figures of 4 for 34.

The hosts started the second innings on a cautious note but Railways speedster J P Yadav bowled an explosive spell and did not allow the batsmen to settle down.

However, it was Madan Yadav who drew the first blood dismissing openers Manoj Sai (27) and L N Prasad Reddy (11).

ASK Varma tried to steady the innings with Venugopala Rao after Y Gnaneshwar Rao was dismissed by Sanjay Bangar for 1.

Varma returned to the pavilion after a brave 36 while skipper Rao was trappd by J P Yadav for 24 which came off 64 balls with the help of four hits to the fence.

RVCH Prasad was bowled by J P Yadav for four runs to leave the hosts tottering at 120 for 6 at close on the second day.

For Railways, J P Yadav and Madan Yadav took two wickets each while Sanjay Bangar and K Parida claimed one wicket apiece.

Scorecard

Railways 1st Innings: (Overnight 165 for 6):
S Bangar st L N Prasad Reddy b Y Venugopal Rao 43
Amit Pagnis lbw Shabuddin 5
J P Singh c & b Y Venugopal Rao 40
J P Yadav c A G Praveen b Md Faiq 31
S Varma st L N Prasad Reddy b Y Venugopal Rao 3
Raja Ali c A S K Varma b Md Faiq 44
Yere Goud run out 10
Siddarth Joshi run out  37
Kulamani Parida  lbw Y Venugopal Rao 6
Harvinder Singh c Masod Sai b K S Shabuddin 23
Madan Yadav not out 2

Extras: (b 13, lb 4, nb 1, w 1) 19

Total: (All out in 122.5 overs) 263

Fall of wickets: 1-23, 2-91, 3-112, 4-120, 5-127, 6-153, 7-230, 8-231, 9-257.

Bowling: K S Shabuddin 23-10-46-2, D Kalyan Krishna 21-5-48-0, A G Praveen 16-1-37-0, R V Ch Prasad 8-4-28-0, Md Faiq 36-14-52-2, Y Venugopal Rao 17.5-7-34-4, A S K Varma 1-0-1-0.

Andhra 1st Innings:
Manoj Sai st Siddarth Joshi b Madan Yadav 27
L N Prasad Reddy c J P Yadav b Madan Yadav  11
A S K Varma st Siddarth Joshi b Kulamani Parida 36
Y Gnaneswara Rao c Amit Pagnis b Sanjay Bangar 1
Y Venugopal Rao lbw J P Yadav 24
R V Ch Prasad b J P Yadav 4
K S Shabuddin batting 9
Balaji Singh batting 0

Extras: (b 4, lb 1, nb 3) 8

Total: (For six wickets in 57 overs) 120

Fall of wickets: 1-32, 2-53, 3-60, 4-98, 5-107, 6-118

Bowling: Harvinder Singh 9-2-16-0, J P Yadav 13-5-29-2, Sanjay Bangar 12-3-17-1,Madan Yadav 15-5-34-2, Kulamani Parida 8-2-19-1.