Mumbai, Nov 5: The Railways put of a tough fight against the star-studded Mumbai line-up to avoid a follow-on and draw the game. They gained one point on the basis of their first innings deficit at the Wankhede Stadium in the opening round match of the Ranji Trophy 2012-13 season.

Speaking to the media after the match, skipper Sanjay Bangar lauded his team’s fighting spirit and character while taking on the Ajit Agarkar-led side comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane among others.

Excerpts from the interaction:

On the match

I think we competed well mostly in all the departments of the game with Mumbai. But ultimately the difference was that three of us got to 70s but not converting the scores into 100s. Sachin made a difference in the third session of the first day. We conceded a few extra runs and probably about 500 [was a target that] we were pretty hopeful of chasing. Those extra 70-100 runs really put us back.

On the counterattack against Ramesh Powar

He is a quality bowler and he was trying to pitch the ball in the rough, so if had played him defensively, he would have ran through our side. So we decided to attack him and that came off. It doesn’t really come off everyday but it came off during this innings.

On Mumbai’s bowling attack

I think everybody put in their best you can’t really doubt their efforts. The efforts of Zaheer [Khan], Ajit [Agarkar] and even Dhawal [Kulkarni] were outstanding throughout the game. Ramesh tried various things but then probably that was not his day. They tried to get us out as quickly as possible; they wanted to enforce the follow-on. Had we got out yesterday or some time during the last session yesterday [the result could have been different].

Our boys have showed a lot of character in saving the follow-on and getting to 426 and that too in a counterattacking manner; so that was very positive.

On playing against Tendulkar

Everyone was looking to play against him and not only the younger boys but even me and Murali Kartik who have played with him. It is always good to compete with former teammates like Zaheer or Ajit. It was a good contest.

On the performance of his team

The team showed a lot of heart and a lot of character. We had been on the field for nearly three days. The effort on the field was outstanding. The fielding was brilliant. While bowling we tried various things and that came off. It was a tough start but we are happy. There are no regrets.

On whether the extras conceded made a difference

In a four-day game those things don’t make that much of a difference although those extras should be curtailed. That is an area that definitely we would like to improve.

On the gaps between teams narrowing thanks to the new Ranji Trophy format

Earlier we used to hardly play against Mumbai, but now three seasons in a row we are playing against them; so that factor really goes out of your mind. It is all about the mindset. Most of the players from weaker teams have started to adjust and play against bigger names. The domestic circuit is well-managed nowadays.

On the game

I think had we won the game it would have been more pleasing. That is one thing we wanted to do, was win here. But having said that, all things don’t go the way you want them to; but we can’t doubt the effort that everybody put in.