At stumps, 40-time champions Mumbai lost openers Sushant Marathe (5) and Bravish Shetty (0) and Aditya Tare (0) to end the day at 24 for 3.
Shetty flashed at a Krishnakant Upadhyay outswinger while Marathe, clearly looking uncomfortable, did not display any footwork to get played on by a Anureet Singh delivery. Tare (0) went for a non-existent single to get run-out.
Skipper Mahesh Rawat (68) was the top-scorer with 10 fours in 97 balls while burly all-rounder Arnab Nandi (60) played some attractive shots to take the home team closer to 250 as Shardul grabbed 6 for 59 in 24 overs, polishing off the lower order with precision.
However, the main wicket was taken by debutant pacer Badre Alam who got the ball to sufficiently move as Rawat saw the off-bail being clipped. Rawat, who was suffering from fever, played some lovely shots. He played a lot of cut shots, adding 57 runs with Arindam Ghosh (34) for the fourth wicket.
He was the last man out but by then Railways have reached to a safe score.
Brief Scores: Railways 1st Innings 242 (Mahesh Rawat 68, Arnab Nandi 60, Shardul Thakur 6/59).
Mumbai 1st Innings: 24/3 (Hiken Shah 18 batting).
