City boys go down to Amritsar

Tribune News Service 

Chandigarh, January 13  

Amritsar bowlers fired in unison to beat hosts Chandigarh by 25 runs in the ongoing Punjab Inter District T20 Championship match at Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 26, here today.  

Put in to bat, Amritsar posted a competitive 161/5 in 20 overs with opener Sharad Lumba and Navneet Virk and Shivluv making significant contribution to the total. 

Lumba struck run-a-ball 37 before he was caught by Gaurav Puri off Karan Azad. 

Virk struck 33 off 26 balls, while Shivluv chipped in with an unbeaten 21-ball 34. The duo also shared a 59-run stand for the fifth wicket before Virk holed out to Azad off Rohit.  

Shivluv and Rohan Marwaha (21 off 10 balls) then raised 36 runs in 2.3 overs to help Amritsar reach 161.

For the hosts, Rohit Sharma claimed 3/24, while Azad returned with figures of 2/18. 

In reply, Chandigarh could manage only 136/7 in their quota of overs as Amritsar bowlers put brakes on scoring with regular dismissals.

Jaskaran Singh was the top scorer for the hosts, hitting 39 off 35 balls. Gaurav Gambhir made 23 off 17 balls, while Arjit Singh made a whirlwind 31 off 15 balls, including three boundaries and two sixes. 

For the visitors, Kamal Passi (2/10), Vinay Chaudhary (2/24) and Shivluv (2/20) claimed two wickets each, while Rohit bagged 1/34. 

Patiala beat Jalandhar

Patiala, meanwhile, registered a convincing five-wicket win over Jalandhar at the PCA Stadium in Mohali. 

Opting to bat, Jalandhar lost two quick wickets in Pargat Singh (5) and Mansab Gill (0) before opener Mandeep Singh (senior), fresh from his India A stint, and Taruwar Kohli put on 72 runs for the third wicket. 

The partnership ended when Kohli was cleaned up by Rajwinder Singh for 26 runs. 

Mandeep followed the suit a few runs later, stumped by wicketkeeper Anmol Malhotra off Sukhwinder Singh for a quick fire 65.

His 43-ball stay at the crease included seven boundaries and three sixes. 

Jalandhar finally ended their innings at 137/7 in 20 overs. For Patiala, Rajwinder Singh (3/26) and Gurvinder Bhullar (2/23) were the main wicket takers.  

In reply, Patiala openers Jeevanjot Singh and Ravi Inder Singh put on 56 runs for the first wicket. 

Ravi was the first one to depart, trapped in front by Rahul Sharma for run-a-ball 20. Jeevanjot, meanwhile, went on to compile a strokeful 55 off 40 balls before being caught by Himanshu Satyawan off Kohli. 

Karan Kaila then struck an unbeaten 26 off 19 balls to guide Patiala to a five-wicket victory with a ball to spare. For Jalandhar, Rahul Sharma (2/25) and Kohli (2/21) claimed an equal share of wickets.

Mohali victorious 

In the second match at the PCA Stadium, hosts Mohali registered a 32-run win over Ludhiana to add four more points to their tally.  

Batting first, Mohali scored 178/7 with Gurkeerat Mann smashing 53 off 33 balls, including five boundaries and two sixes. Uday Kaul hit 48 off 30 balls.

For the visitors, medium pacer Baltej Singh claimed 2/38, while Nikhil Chaudhary (1/37) and Simranjit Singh (1/31) grabbed a wicket apiece. 

In reply, Ludhiana could muster only 146/4 in 20 overs even as Nikhil Chaudhary scored an unbeaten 58 off 47 balls. Sandeep Singh hit 46 off 32 balls. The duo stitched 78 runs for the fourth wicket but failed to take their side home.

Maninder Singh, Jaskaran Singh and Varun Khanna scalped a wicket each for the hosts.