Chandigarh beat Ludhiana; partnership by Sandeep, Deepin goes in vain

Our Sports Correspondent

Ludhiana, June 24

Two good partnerships — between Sandeep Singh and Deepin Chitkara (82 runs) and between Sukhjinder Singh and Gurjot Singh (57 runs) — went in vain, as Chandigarh restricted Ludhiana to 288 runs, gaining 30-run lead to win a two-day match during the ongoing Punjab Inter-District Cricket Tournament U-23 today.

The match was played at the PCA Stadium in Mohali.

Yesterday, Chandigarh made 318 runs. Main contributors were Shivam Bhambari (98), Arjit Singh Pannu (12), Jasnoor Singh (38) and Jagmeet Singh Bhullar (24).

For Ludhiana, Navendu Sharma claimed four wickets for 58 runs, while Sandeep Singh chipped in two for 62 and Nikhil Chaudhary grabbed two wickets for 72 runs.

The Ludhiana team began its innings on a sedate note and was forced to play defensive. Midway through the innings, two useful partnerships figured, but culminated without the desired result. First, Sandeep Singh (83) and Deepin Chitkara (19) added 82 runs for the sixth wicket and later, Sukhjinder Singh (52 not out) and Gurjot Singh (19) shared 57 runs partnership for the eighth wicket which failed to turn the tide in Ludhiana’s favour.

Other notable scorers for Ludhiana were Jaish Jain (14), Jashan Bhangu (46), Nikhil Chaudhary (14) and Kabir Grewal (19).

For the hosts, Jagjit Sandhu and Bhaginder Singh captured three wickets each after conceding 28 and 55 runs, respectively, while Anirudh Kanwar got two wickets for 53 runs. Nipun Pandita took one for 37 and Arpit Singh secured one for 72 runs.

The first match played between Ludhiana and Hoshiarpur on June 20 and 21 had to be abandoned on the second day due to inclement weather and denied the former a chance to earn any point. Ludhiana had amassed a decent total of 395 runs. This also deprived Ludhiana to qualify for the knock-out stage.