Inter-District U-23 cricket: Mohali qualify for title clash with Patiala

Our Sports Correspondent

Ludhiana, June 20

The two-day semifinal between Mohali and Ludhiana remained unresolved. However, the former emerged victorious on the basis of first innings lead and qualified for the final in the Inter-District Cricket (U-23) Tournament played at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Wednesday.

Ludhiana skipper Kashish Pasneja won the toss and opted to bat first. But, Ludhiana team failed to take advantage of making first use of the pitch and continued to struggle throughout first innings.

Except for opener Nehal Wadhera (40), Ritik Singh (38) and to some extent Kashish (27) along with Nikhil Chaudhary (21), no other batsman was able to negotiate accurate bowling by Mohali bowlers. Their first innings culminated at 181 runs in 65 overs.

Harpreet Brar of Mohali bowled superbly capturing five wickets while Jassinder and Vishu Kashyap claimed two wickets each. Nikhil Kohli chipped in with one wicket to restrict the visitors to a modest score of 181 runs.

Mohali began its reply on a positive note with the opening pair putting on 47 runs for the first wicket. They went on to tickle the score board and eventually scored 332 runs for the loss of eight wickets in the stipulated 95 overs in the first innings.

The highlight of their innings was fine century by Abjijeet Garg, who contributed 111 runs, followed by Anil Yadav, who made 84 runs, and Mayank Sidhu, who scored 48 runs, and Vishwanath P Singh, who contributed 36 runs, to enable Mohali gain 151 runs lead.

For Ludhiana, skipper Kashish Pasneja was the most successful bowler, who secured six wickets, while Rahul Khanna and Resham Sharma took one wicket each.

Facing a huge deficit, Ludhiana in its second innings made 93 runs after losing five wickets in 23 overs when it was called a day. The tie ended in a draw, but Mohali, on the basis of first innings lead, were declared winners and assured themselves a berth in the title clash with Patiala on June 22 and 23.

Brief scores

• Ludhiana (first innings): 181 all out in 65 overs (Nehal Wadhera 40, Kashish Pasneja 27, Nikhil Chaudhary 21, Ritik Singh 38 and Deepin Chitkara 18; Harpreet Brar 5 for 67, Jassinder 2 for 43, Vishu Kashyap 2 for 8 and Nikhil Kohli 1 for 29).
• Mohali (first innings): 332 for 8 in 95 overs (Abhijeet Garg 111, Anil Yadav 84, Mayank Sidhu 48, Vishwanath Singh 36 and Vishu Kashyap 15; Kashish Pasneja 6 for 131, Resham Sharma 1 for 15 and Rahul Khanna 1 for 54).
• Ludhiana (second innings): 93 for 5 in 23 overs (Harnoor Singh 31 not out, Gurjot Singh 20, Kashish Pasneja 14 and Ritik Singh 12; Harpreet Brar 2 for 31, Nikhil Kohli 2 for 34 and Jassinder 1 for 17).