Mullanpur, Oct 21 Punjab rode on three-wicket hauls from spinners Harjas Singh and Emanjot Singh Chahal to crush Chhattisgarh by seven wickets in their Group B Ranji Trophy clash here on Wednesday.
After piling up a mammoth 456 in their first innings, Punjab bowled out Chhattisgarh for 206 and enforced the follow-on. The visitors showed greater resistance in their second essay but were eventually dismissed for 335, leaving Punjab with a modest target of 86 runs.
The hosts made light work of the chase, knocking off the runs in just 16.5 overs for the loss of three wickets to seal a comfortable victory.
Chhattisgarh, resuming at 123 for three after being forced to follow on, put up a spirited fight, with overnight unbeaten batters Aayush Pandey and Amandeep Khare leading the resistance.
Pandey stood firm against tight bowling to compile a patient 111 off 252 balls, holding the innings together and bringing up a fine century. Khare also completed a well-crafted half-century before retiring hurt, with their fourth-wicket partnership yielding 122 runs.
The middle and lower order continued to battle, with Rahul Pradhan (35), Ajay Mandal (45) and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (47) making valuable contributions to help Chhattisgarh avoid an innings defeat.
However, Punjab’s bowlers eventually wrapped up the innings at 335 to set up a modest chase.
Right-arm spinner Harjas Singh, playing only his second first-class match, claimed 3 for 92, while left-arm spinner Emanjot Singh Chahal returned figures of 3 for 43 in just his fifth first-class appearance.
India’s Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill did not get to bat in the second innings. He made 1 in the first innings.
In Mulapadu, Hyderabad scored a massive 267-run win against Andhra. Left-arm spinner Tanay Thyagarajan took six wickets for 35 runs on the final day to help dismiss the rivals for 130 runs.
In Alur, Saurashtra took three points on basis of their slender first innings lead against Karnataka. It was the second time in as many games that Saurashtra settled for three points.
Karanatka set Saurashtra a target of 237 after declaring their second innings at 243 for seven. Realising there was not enough time in the game, Saurashtra went for the three points rather than pushing for an outright win. Saurashtra ended their second innings at 137/2 with Chirag Jani unbeaten on 63 off 117 balls.
Brief scores:
In Mullanpur: Punjab 456 and 86 for 3 in 16.5 overs (Uday Saharan 40 not out; Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 2/24) beat Chhattisgarh 206 and (f/o) 335 in 116.2 overs (Aayush Pandey 111, Amandeep Khare 62, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 47; Harpreet Brar 2/117, Harjas Singh 3/92, Emanjot Singh Chahal 3/43). Punjab won by 7 wickets.
In Mulapadu: Hyderabad 275 and 306 for 7 decl beat Andhra 184 and 130 (Tanay Thyagarajan 6/35, Aniketh Reddy 3/57). Hyderabad won by 267 runs.
In Alur: Karnataka 342 and 243 for 7 decl (KV Aneesh 79, Krishnan Shrijith 51; Parth Bhut 3/80). Saurashtra 349 and 137 for 2 in 42 overs (Chirag Jani 63 not out) Match drawn.
(PTI News)
