City boys crash, Ludhiana in semis

CHANDIGARH:Chandigarh batsmen failed to capitalise on a decent show by its bowlers and gave away a small but crucial two-run first-innings lead to the hosts Ludhiana on the second and final day of their Punjab Inter-District U-23 Cricket Championship match at the PAU grounds on Saturday to return with a single point and bow out of the competition.

A batsman plays a shot during the second and final day’s play between hosts Patiala and Mohali in the Punjab Inter-District U-23 Championship at Dhruv Pandove Stadium on Saturday. Mohali won the match by two wickets. Rajesh Sachar

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 16

Chandigarh batsmen failed to capitalise on a decent show by its bowlers and gave away a small but crucial two-run first-innings lead to the hosts Ludhiana on the second and final day of their Punjab Inter-District U-23 Cricket Championship match at the PAU grounds on Saturday to return with a single point and bow out of the competition. Ludhiana earned three points from the match.

The hosts finished two points behind Group-I toppers Amritsar, who amassed nine points in the league stage with an outright victory against Gurdaspur at Gandhi Ground on Saturday. Both Ludhiana and Amritsar reached the semifinals, scheduled to begin from June 19.

The other two teams to make it to the last-four stage of the championship are Group-II toppers Mohali (16 points) and runner-up Patiala (10 points).

Kashish tames Chandigarh

Resuming at overnight 43/1, in reply to Ludhiana’s first innings total of 247, Chandigarh lost wickets at regular intervals and folded up on 245 runs.

Kashish was the most successful bowler for the hosts, claiming 5/70, while Dipin Chitkara returned with figures of 4/92. Nikhil Chaudhary accounted 1/14.

For the visitors, Jasnoor scored a 44, while Jagmeet Singh contributed 42 runs to the chase. Arjit Singh chipped in with 40 runs.

Amritsar outplay Gurdaspur

At the Gandhi Ground in Amritsar, the hosts registered an inning and 26-run win over Gurdaspur.

Resuming the day on 247/7, Amritsar ended their first innings on 280 to gain a 140-run lead over the visitors. Salil Arora was the top scorer for the side with 67 runs, while Abhishek Kumar made a useful 54.

For Gurdaspur, Mohit Singh claimed 4/60 and Rajeev Kumar picked 3/93.

Needing 141 runs to make Amritsar bat again, the visitors were bowled out for 114 runs in their second essay to hand a comfortable victory to Amritsar.

Rohit Gulati was the most impressive bowler for the hosts, claiming 4/46. Rahul Kashyap (2/26) and Sumit Sharma (2/26) took two wickets apiece.

Mohali overcome Patiala

Leg-spinner Mayank Markande’s effort of 5/37 went in vain as Mohali registered a narrow two-wicket win over hosts Patiala at Dhruv Pandove Stadium on Saturday.

Needing 130 runs for an outright win on the final day, Mohali managed to reach home with some useful contributions from Ramandeep Singh (35) and Abhijeet Garg (24).

Earlier, resuming the day on 48/1, Patiala once again fell to the guile of spinners Harpreet Brar and Jassinder Singh and closed their second innings on 158 runs.

Brar, who had picked 3/39 in the first innings, claimed 5/49 runs, while off-spinner Jassinder Singh completed a match haul of 10/111 after snapping 4/78 in the second innings.

Mohali had gained a vital 29-run lead over Patiala after scoring 145 runs in reply to hosts’ first innings total of 116.

Jalandhar, Ferozepur share points

Meanwhile, at the Burlton Park, hosts Jalandhar and Ferozepur shared a point each after overnight rain did not allow play on the final day.

Jalandhar had scored 560 runs on the opening day with Mansab Gill hitting an explosive 216.

In the semifinals, Amritsar will face Patiala at Dhruv Pandove Stadium, while Mohali will host Ludhiana at IS Bindra PCA Stadium.