Centurions Kartik, Samarpit help Raj edge past Railways

Youngster Kartik Sharma's remarkable run at the senior level shows no signs of slowing down. On Friday, he conjured 100 off 69 balls, his second List A hundred and overall third since his debut at the senior level in Nov in the First Class circuit.
The 18-year-old in the company of Samarpit Joshi, another centurion from the Rajasthan camp who struck an unbeaten 116 off 104 balls, helped the team edge past Railways by one wicket with one ball remaining in a Group B match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Mumbai.
Railways' Suraj Ahuja's 116-ball 115 went in vain.
Chasing 345, Rajasthan's top-order failed to click. Shubham Garhwal, Mahipal Lomror and Deepak Hooda got starts, but failed to capitalise on it. Kartik and Samarpit's 147 runs partnership laid a solid foundation for the win. After the teenager was castled off Mohammad Saif, 95 more runs were needed and all-rounders Ajay Kookna and Deepak Chahar ensured Samarpit had enough support from the other hand.
Earlier, made to bat first, opener Suraj along with No. 3 batsman Sahab Yuvraj Singh (81 off 91 balls) guided Railways to 188/2 in 32.4 overs. Their captain Upendra Yadav chipped in with a quickfire 55 off 31 and No. 10 Akash Pandey's cameo of 20 in 10 balls took Railways to 345/9 in 50 overs. On a batting paradise, Rajasthan's left-arm seamer Khaleel Ahmed finished with figures of 10-0-65-4.
Brief score: Railways 345/9 in 50 overs (Suraj Ahuja 115, Sahab Yuvraj Singh 81; Khaleel Ahmed 4-65, Deepak Chahar 2-77) lost to Rajasthan 348/9 in 49.5 overs (Kartik Sharma 100, Samarpit Joshi 116 not out; Rahul Sharma 3-63, Akshat Pandey 3-82) by 1 wicket.