City boys eye victory against Hoshiarpur

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 24

Arjun Azad and Jagmeet Singh scored a century each as Chandigarh declared their first innings closed at 351/3 against Hoshiarpur on the opening day of their Punjab Inter-District U-23 Championship match at the Sector 16 Stadium here on Monday.

At the end of the day’s play, the visitors were struggling at 85/4, with Karan Chawla batting on 32 and Ashish Ghai unbeaten on 24. 

Arshddep Singh claimed 2/14 for the hosts, while Bhagminder (1/23) and Amit Shukla (1/10) took a wicket apiece.

Earlier, Chandigarh got off to a decent start as Azad and Ayush Sikka added 124 runs for the opening wicket. The two were separated when Sikka was caught by Vikram off Dhananjay on 48.

Azad though continued to punish the Hoshiarpur attack and together with Jagmeet Singh stretched the total to 280 before he was dismissed by Karan for 147 runs. His 164-ball knock included 18 boundaries and two sixes. Jagmeet fell after scoring nearly run-a-ball 126 as Chandigarh closed their innings on 351 runs.   

Patiala in driver’s seat

Patiala gained 192-run first innings lead against visitors Mansa at Dhruv Pandove Stadium after being put in to bat.  

Mandeep Inder Bawa scored 107 runs, while Jashanpreet Singh added 111 runs to the Patiala total as the hosts closed the opening day’s play on 314/4 after bowling out the visitors for just 122 runs. 

At the draw of stumps, Prabshimran Singh was unbeaten on 60 and Karan Pathak was not on 17. For Mansa, Sukhvir Singh (2/120) and Shubam Singla (2/69) took two wickets each.

Earlier, leg-spinner Mayank Markande and off-spinner Akul Partap Pandove spun a web around the Mansa batsman with the former returning with figures of 4/5. Pandove picked 2/34. 

Bhupinder Singh (43) was the top scorer for the visitors. Harpreet Sharma added 36 runs to the Mansa total. 

Mohali in control

At IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali, the hosts gained a vital 30-run lead against  Muktsar on the opening day.

Put in to bat, the visitors were bowled out for just 137 runs. Gaurav Bedi (3/11) and Hardik Choudhary (3/17) claimed three wickets each, while Gurnoor Brar (2/43) and Jasninder Singh (2/35) picked two wickets apiece for the hosts. 

Amandeep Singh made a sedate 142-ball 52 for Muktsar, while Gagandeep Singh managed 37 of 39 balls. 

Mohali, in reply, were batting on 167/2 when the play ended on Monday. Vishwanath Partap Singh was unbeaten on 79, while Sahil Chander made run-a-ball 80 before he was caught by Amandeep off Jagjeet.

Ludhiana smell victory  

Dipin Chitkara (5/38) and Gurmehar Singh (5/19) claimed five wickets each as hosts Ludhiana bundled out Faridkot for 94 runs after opting to bowl at the GRD Academy grounds on Monday. 

Ludhiana, in reply, declared their first innings closed at 246/6. Jaish Jain hammered a 93-ball 103, while Nehal Wadhera scored 50 runs. The duo was also involved in a 107-run second-wicket partnership. 

For Faridkot, Gursarabdeep (3/86) and Naman Dhir (3/86) claimed three wickets each.

Trailing the hosts by 152 runs, Faridkot in their second essay were tottering at 28/4 when the play ended on Day 1. Gurmehar took 3/13.

Jalandhar in command

At the Burlton Park in Jalandhar, the hosts gained a massive 328-run lead against Fatehgarh Sahib on the opening day. 

At the end of the day’s play, Jalandhar were batting on 375/8. Prerit Dutta was unbeaten on 72 and giving him company at the other end was Lovepreet Singh on 41. Arjun Verma made 65 runs, while Parth Aggarwal contributed 55 runs to the Jalandhar total. Gaurav Choudhary hit a blistering 72 off 42 balls.

Earlier, Fatehgarh Sahib were bundled out for just 47 runs. Dutta took 4/6, while Choudhary returned with figures of 3/20.

Brief scores

Chandigarh 351/3 decl (Arjun Azad 147, Jagmeet Singh 126) vs Hoshiarpur 84/4 (Karan Chawla 32*, Ashish Ghai 24*; Arshdeep Singh 2/14, Amit Shukla 1/10)   

Muktsar 137 all out (Amandeep Singh 52; Gaurav Bedi 3/11, Hardik 3/17) vs Mohali 167/2 (Sahil 80, Vishwanath 79*)