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Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, June 19
Skipper Bhagminder Singh claimed a fifer as Chandigarh restricted hosts Ludhiana to 302 runs in their first innings to gain a vital 92-run lead on the second and final day of their Punjab Inter-District U-23 Championship match at the the GRD Academy grounds on Wednesday and open their account with three points.
Chasing Chandigarh’s first innings total of 394 runs, Ludhiana lost opener Gurjot Singh early. He was caught by wicketkeeper Pardeep Yadav off Jagjit Singh on naught. However, Jaish Jain and Nihal Wadhera batted sensibly and took the total to 85 runs before Amit Shukla ended the 75-run partnership between the two. Jain faced 62 balls for his 42 before he was dismissed by the left-arm spinner in the 22nd over.
Wadhera then in company of skipper Deepin Chitkara added 101 runs for the third wicket and took the Ludhiana total close to the 200-run mark. The duo was separated when Wadhera was consumed by Bhagminder on 77.
Chitkara and Jaskaranveer Singh (17) stitched a 47-run partnership for the fifth wicket before Raman Bishnoi got rid of the latter to reduce the hosts to 238/5.
Even as wickets continued to tumble at the other end Chitkara held the other end firmly. He eventually fell to Shukla on 106. His 113-ball stay in the middle was studded with nine fours and three sixes.
The hosts lost their remaining three wickets for 30 runs and closed their innings on 302 runs — 92 runs short of the Chandigarh’s first innings total.
Bhagminder returned with figures of 5/104, while Shukla took 3/80. Jagjit Singh (1/43) and Bishnoi (1/18) claimed a wicket each for the visitors.
Azam shines for Jalandhar
A timely century by Azam Nazar helped visitors Jalandhar overhaul Amritsar’s first innings total of 414 runs at the Gandhi Grounds and gain three points from the match.
At the end of the play on the second and final day, Amritsar were batting on 125/3 with first innings centurion Abhishek Sagar unbeaten on one. Skipper Abhishek Sharma hammered a 33-ball 68, while Abhinav Sharma made 40 runs off just 15 balls.
Gourav Chaudhary (1/34), Keshav Sharma (1/30) and Prerit Dutta (1/9) picked a wicket apiece for the visitors.
Earlier, Jalandhar were in a spot of bother at 147/3 with a set Mansab Gill returning to the pavilion on 85. The skipper was cleaned up by Rahul Kashyap after hammering 15 boundaries and one six in his 90-ball stay at the centre.
However, Gourav Chaudhary and Nazar kept the scoreboard ticking and put up a vital 122-run partnership for the fourth wicket to keep the visitors in the hunt.
While Chaudhary fell to Kashyap on 76, Nazar remained not out on 111 as Jalandhar managed to score 415/7 in the stipulated 95 overs and return home with three points.
Patiala finish on top
At Dhruv Pandove Stadium in Patiala, the hosts gained three points against Ferozepur after Mayank Markande claimed a fifer to bowl out the visitors for just 68 runs in their first innings.
Chasing Patiala’s first innings total of 476 runs, Ferozepur batsmen failed to negotiate the guile of leg-spinner Markande and folded up their innings in the 23rd over of the day. Markande took 5/8, while skipper Akul Pratap Pandove picked 2/21.
In an interesting move, Patiala chose not to enforce the follow-on and rather decided to give some match practice to their batters in the series opener.
At the end of the play, Patiala were batting on 345/4 with Prince Balwant Rai unbeaten on 59 and Prabhsimran Singh not out on 75. Jashanpreet Singh hammered a 119-ball 112.
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