When play began on the third morning at the Brabourne Stadium, Railways would have fancied their chances of putting Mumbai under pressure on a surface that had shown little sign of deterioration.But Mumbai showed the resilience to turn the game around and put themselves in the driver’s seat, ending Day 3 on 174/4 and stretching their lead to 311 runs with one day remaining.The lead act was Tanush Kotian. Fresh from taking 8/81 against Haryana, the off-spinner delivered another telling performance, claiming 7/45 in 18.5 overs to help bowl Railways out for 259 and give Mumbai a 137-run first-innings lead.Bowling throughout from the press box end, Kotian accounted for Kush Marathe, Bhargav Merai, Zubair Ali, Ravi Singh, Toufik Mandal and Adarsh Singh. Railways’ batsmen were equally responsible for their downfall. Having adopted a proactive approach on Tuesday to put Mumbai under pressure, they went into their shells on Wednesday, content to defend rather than look for runs.That played into Kotian’s hands. He settled into a consistent line and length around middle stump, removing Marathe, caught at bat-pad, and captain Merai, trapped lbw. The two played painstaking innings of seven off 26 balls and 30 off 92, respectively.At the stroke of lunch came the best dismissal of the innings. Bowling from around the wicket, Kotian got one to dip and turn past the well-set Ravi Singh, who was beaten by the deviation as the ball clipped the top of off stump. It completed his five-wicket haul.After Tushar Deshpande knocked back Raj Choudhury’s stumps post lunch, Kotian returned to close out Railways’ innings, trapping Mondal in front on 32 and bowling Adarsh in the 80th over.Story continues below this adALSO READ | Ranji Trophy: Railways took on Mumbai’s pacers, and then the spinners arrivedKotian said he had worked on using the crease and different angles, including a straighter delivery that fetched him two LBWs on Wednesday. “I have worked a lot on two-three variations. I have worked on the angles, the crease, and the straighter one as well, with which I took two LBWs,” he said after the day’s play.With a healthy 137-run lead, Divyansh Saxena and Angkrish Raghuvanshi had the opportunity to make the most of a flat pitch. Having shared an unbeaten 97-run stand against Haryana, the pair set about building a substantial partnership in contrasting fashion.Raghuvanshi was the aggressor, using the paddle sweep against left-arm spinner Choudhury and the reverse sweep against off-spinner Mondal to disrupt their rhythm and force Merai to bring back the pacers. He also enjoyed a slice of luck on 38 when Choudhury dropped a catch at fine leg.Story continues below this adAt the other end, Saxena was more watchful, relying on his defence and rotating the strike to provide the ideal foil to his attacking partner.Raghuvanshi survived a run-out scare on 49, his dive helping him complete the single. He grew in confidence after reaching his half-century, bringing out a reverse sweep against pacer Zubair that raced away for four. Saxena followed him to the landmark a few overs later, reaching his fifty with a single to long-on.Choudhury eventually ended the 146-run stand, inducing a false shot from Raghuvanshi, who lobbed a catch to cover on 79 before smashing his bat against his pad in frustration.The dismissal triggered a mini collapse, with Mondal removing nightwatchman Deshpande, Suryansh Shedge and Musheer Khan cheaply. However, with the surface offering little assistance, Mumbai kept adding to their lead, leaving Railways with a mountain to climb on the final day.Story continues below this adBrief Scores: Mumbai 396 and 174/4 in 36 overs (Angkrish Raghuvanshi 79, Divyansh Saxena 68 not out; Toufik Mondal 3/37) lead Railways 259 all out in 79.5 overs (Ravi Singh 43, Vivek Singh retired hurt 38, Mohammad Saif 37; Tanush Kotian 7/45) by 311 runs.Based in Mumbai, Shankar Narayan has over five years of experience and his reporting has ranged from... Read MoreStay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.