Yadav ton saves the day for Mohali

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 26

Anil Yadav scored a timely century and stitched 163-run partnership with Mayank Sidhu to help Mohali end the opening day of the Punjab Inter-District U-19 Tournament for the Dhruv Pandove Trophy against Zone-A at 278 for 8. 

Mohali were reeling at 6 for 88 before Yadav and wicket-keeper batsman Sidhu combined together to resurrect the hosts' innings at the PCA Stadium in Mohali.

Mohali top-order failed once again as they lost openers Sahil Chander (12) and Nirmal Singh (0) in quick succession after being invited to bat by Zone-A.

Skipper Taranpreet Singh also did not trouble the scorers as he was caught by Ankit Negi of the bowling of Rohit Saini in the fifth over of the day. 

Sidarth Rawat, who walked in at the fall of the skipper, played cautiously and added 58 runs for the fourth wicket along with Yadav before he was dismissed by Nikhil Malhotra on 17 (75 balls). 

His departure triggered a middle order collapse as V Vishwanath and Vishnu Kashyap returned to the hut without contributing to the total.

At 6 for 88 Mohali were looking down the barrel before Yadav and Sidhu steadied the innings. Both the players mixed caution with aggression and latched on to any opportunity provided by the Zone-A bowlers.

Yadav in particular was severe on the bowlers as he hit 24 fours and a six during his 136-run knock. The momentary loss in concentration, however, saw his end as he was stumped of the bowling of Sarwan Singh in the 85th over. Sidhu was batting at 94 when the play was called off for the day.   

For the visitors, Rohit Saini claimed two wickets while Sarwan Singh accounted for three Mohali batsmen. Ankush Garg and Nikhil Malhotra were the other wicket takers for Zone-A.

Chandigarh fold up for 177

Chandigarh, meanwhile, had their task cut against Amritsar after they were bundled out for a paltry 177 on the opening day at the Gandhi Ground.  

At the close of the day hosts Amritsar were 112 runs behind the visitors with eight wickets in hand. 

Electing to bat, Chandigarh failed to build any momentum as they lost wickets at regular intervals. Captain Raman Bishnoi (35) and Shubham Chand (37) resisted the Amritsar attack for some time, with the duo adding 39 runs for the fifth wicket. However, their downfall spelled an early end to the visitors' innings.

Tailenders  Nipun Pandita (13) and Resham Sharma (25) held the fort for a while and took the score past 150.

Abhinav Sharma (3/36) and Rahul Kashyap (4/35) were the pick of the bowlers for the hosts. 

Brief scores 

Mohali 278/8 (Anil Yadav 136, Mayank Sidhu 94 not out; Sarwan Singh 3/59, Nikhil Malhotra 2/6) vs Zone-A

Chandigarh 177 all out (Shubham Chand 37, Raman Bishnoi 35; Rahul Kashyap 4/35, Abhinav Sharma 3/36) vs Amritsar 65/2 (Rahul Kashyap 19 not out; Resham Sharma 1/18)

Jalandhar 319/7 (Jasbir Singh 92, Amandeep Singh 56 not out; Abhay Tipnis 2/40, Anmol Preet 2/72) vs Patiala