Opener Amit Pagnis scored an unbeaten 98 as Railways defeated Hyderabad by seven wickets to secure their fourth entry to the Ranji Trophy final in five years, in Delhi on Sunday.

After an indifferent display on the first two days of the Elite division clash, the hosts were back in their element as they bowled out Hyderabad for 170 runs before achieving the target of 157 runs 45 minutes after tea on the third day.

The 2002 champions, who are in the final for the fourth time, await the winners of the other semifinal between holders Mumbai and Punjab.

It was a much improved performance by Railways today as their batsman showed better discipline in the middle with Pagnis leading the run chase.

The left-handed opener, who used to play for Mumbai before joining the Railways, first had a 72-run partnership for the opening wicket with his skipper Sanjay Bangar (19) and after the team lost three wickets in the space of eight runs, he kept his composure to take the team to victory.

Railway coach Vinod Sharma also underlined the importance of Pagnis' innings when he termed it as "invaluable".

"Pragyan Ojha was troubling our batsmen and we needed somebody to not only counter him but also unsettle the bowler. Pagnis played a gem of a knock. An invaluable innings for the

team," Sharma said.

Pagnis was ably supported by Yere Gaud (22 not out) as the latter used his feet very well in thwarting the spinners, who were the main tormentors of Railways in the first innings.

Earlier, resuming at 131 for five, Hyderabad lost wickets at regular interval to be bowled out for just 170 runs.

Harvinder Singh was the pick of the Railway bowlers as he made full use of the early morning moisture, which had forced the umpires to begin the match 22 minutes late.

Scoreboard

Hyderabad (Ist innings): 166

Railways (Ist innings): 180

Hyderabad (2nd innings):
T Suman c TP Singh b Kartik 32
D Manohar lbw Kartik 75
D Vinay Kumar lbw J P Yadav 8
Anirudh Singh c Gaud b Kartik 6
A T Rayudu b Bangar 8
P S Niranjan lbw Bangar 0
A Yadav lbw Parida 26
I Khaleel lbw Harvinder 1
I Reddy not out 1
N P Singh b Harvinder 0
P Ojha b Harvinder 0

Extras: (b-4, lb-3, nb-6) 13

Total: (all out in 84.5 overs) 170

Fall of wickets: 1/68, 2/90, 3/109, 4/121, 5/121, 6/158, 7/159, 8/169, 9/170.

Bowling: J P Yadav 20-7-40-1, Harvinder 11.5-4-32-3, Kartik 22-5-48-3, Bangar 16-4-25-2, Parida 12-5-14-0, Khanolkar 3-1-4-0.

Railways (2nd innings):
A Pagnis not out 98
S Bangar b Reddy 19
T P Singh c Rayudu b Ojha 1
J P Yadav lbw Ojha 5
Y Gaud not out 22

Extras: (b-7, lb-1, nb-7) 15

Total: (for 3 wkts, 47 overs) 160

Fall of wickets: 1/72, 2/74, 3/80

Bowling: N Singh 5-0-26-0, P Ojha 18-4-58-2, I Reddy 13-3-28-1, P Niranjan 10-0-40-0, A Rayudu 1-1-0-0.