Close Railways 179 for 1 (Khanolkar 102, Kartik 72*) trail West Indies 449 for 8 dec (Gayle 154, Ganga 71, Breese 58*, Parida 4-107) by 270 runs

After a fairly impressive performance with the bat over five sessions, West Indies put forth another shoddy display on the field, as Railways sped away at almost six an over after tea. Shreyas Khanolkar, a 25-year-old middle-order batsman, was the hero. Promoted to open the innings with Murali Kartik – who, incidentally, normally bats at No. 7 – Khanolkar played with refreshing freedom to post his maiden first-class century, in his second season. The 167-run first-wicket partnership – in a mere 27.3 overs – enabled Railways to end the first day at 179 for 1, 270 behind West Indies' first innings of 449 for 8 declared.

Buoyed by a substantial total given by their batsmen, the West Indian new-ball pair of Cameron Cuffy and Daren Powell – opening the bowling in the absence of Merv Dillon and Pedro Collins – charged in, but were soon forced on the back foot by some audacious strokeplay by the openers. Kartik's away-from-the-body defensive technique encouraged Ridley Jacobs to have as many as seven fielders in the slips cordon, but that yielded little success as Kartik squirted plenty of fours through third man. West Indies continued to plumb the depths in the field too, dropping Kartik three times in the slips. But considering that they missed 14 chances in the two Tests, this was only par for the course.

Kartik rode his luck well, but there was little about Khanolkar's knock that was chancy. A couple of back-foot drives off Powell raced across the fast outfield, while Gareth Breese and Mahendra Nagamootoo were punished with lofted shots down the ground. By the time Khanolkar was finally dismissed, spooning a catch to Powell at cover off Ryan Hinds, he had powered 102 runs from 93 balls, with 20 fours. The performance ensured that Railways hardly missed their regular openers – JP Yadav was ruled out with a hairline fracture on his hand which he sustained in the field, while Abhay Sharma dropped himself down the order after keeping wicket for 152 overs.

Earlier, West Indies were propped up by an undefeated 95-run ninth-wicket partnership between Breese and Nagamootoo, after Railways had fought back to reduce them to 354 for 8. The new ball, which had yielded the wicket of Chris Gayle late on the first day, was the key on the second morning. The Railways seamers kept a consistent line and length, and soon reaped the rewards.

Marlon Samuels, a strong contender for a middle-order berth for the third Test, spoilt his chances when he feathered a nick to the keeper off Zakir Hussain from the second over of the day for 4 (302 for 3). Daren Ganga followed him three overs later for an assured 71, edging Harvinder Singh to first slip, where Murali Kartik dived to his left and came up with a fine, left-handed catch (308 for 4).

Ryan Hinds's miserable tour continued – his four innings in the Tests had fetched him just 34 runs – when he wafted loosely outside off, giving Kartik his second catch, and Yadav his first wicket (330 for 5). Hinds made 19.

The slide continued after lunch too, but the protagonist this time was Kulamani Parida, the offpsinner. He struck three times in successive overs, including the wicket of Ramnaresh Sarwan, trapped in front after labouring to 10 from 76 balls. And when Daren Powell departed for a duck, West Indies had lost their last seven wickets for 58.

Breese and Nagamootoo then did the resurrection act, but by the end of the day, Carl Hooper's delight at some rare lower-order runs would have been wiped away by the a familiarly dismal bowling and fielding performance.

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