Gaurav saves Chandigarh the blues

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 21

Gaurav Puri scored a timely century to help Chandigarh close their first innings on 277 runs against Gurdaspur after the hosts were struggling at 56/5 on the opening day of their Katoch Shield match at the Sector 16 Stadium here on Tuesday.

Put in to bat, Chandigarh had a disastrous beginning as they lost Manan Vohra (3), Shivam Bhambri (3), Karan Azad (0) and Talwinder Singh (14) for the addition of just 24 runs. Puri and Arpit Singh (4) stretched the total to 56 runs before Suraj Parkash removed the latter to spell further trouble for the hosts.   

Struggling at 56/5, Puri found a perfect foil in Bhagminder Singh and together they pushed the Chandigarh innings close to the 200-run mark. The 124-run partnership between the two ended when Bhagmender was dismissed by Vaibhav after scoring a 102-ball 46. 

Puri went on to complete his century before he was caught by wicketkeeper Vaibhav off left-arm spinner Madhav Pathania. His 163-ball 113 included 18 boundaries and a six.

Arshdeep Singh and Mandeep Singh then added a crucial 52 runs for the last wicket to propel Chandigarh to a competitive total. While Arshdeep cracked a 37-ball 40, Mandeep managed 10 runs.   

Pathania was the pick of the bowlers for the visitors, claiming 4/99. Parkash picked 3/42. 

At the end of the day’s play, Gurdaspur were batting on 67/1. 

Patiala hold the edge

At Dhruv Pandove Stadium in Patiala, the hosts, after opting to bat,  were all out for 372 runs in their first innings against Mohali. 

Ikjot Singh Thind scored 93 runs, while Sanveer Singh contributed 86 runs to the Patiala total. 

Harpreet Barar claimed 5/71 for the visitors, while Barinder Sran (2/50) and Jass Inder (2/79) took two wickets each. 

Mohali, in reply, were batting on 29/0 at the close of play.

Brief scores

• Chandigarh 277 all out (Gaurav Puri 113, Bhagminder Singh 46, Arshdeep Singh 40; Madhav Pathania 4/99, Suraj Parkash 3/42) vs Gurdaspur 67/1 
• Patiala 372 all out (Ikjot Singh Thind 93, Sanveer Singh 86, Prabhsimran Singh 75, Parbjot Singh 63; Harpreet Barar 5/71, Barinder Sran 2/50) vs Mohali 29/0
• Ropar 309/9 decl (Inderpreet Singh 110, Nitin Kamboj 72, Pareesh Bhatia 65; Saurav 6/105) vs Sangrur 63/1