Punjab in driver’s seat after Gourav’s ton

Chandigarh, January 12

Gourav Choudhary scored a solid 184 to help Punjab amass 540 runs in their first innings before the side reduced Maharashtra to 120/7 to gain the upper hand on the second day of their Cooch Behar Trophy quarterfinal match at the Dhruv Pandove Stadium in Patiala today.  

Choudhary, who was unbeaten on 92 last evening, took just seven balls to complete his century today before he stretched the hosts’ tally to 479 runs in company of Rahul Kashyap.  

Resuming the day at 338/6, the duo added 141 runs to their overnight stand of 19 runs before Tanmay Shirode struck for the visitors in the 37th over of the day. Kashyap holed out to Akshay Kalokhe on 69. 

Choudhary, then in company of Prerit Dutta, took the total past 500-run mark. The two added 31 runs for the eighth wicket before the left-arm spinner Kalokhe accounted for the centurion.  

Choudhary’s 329-ball stay in the middle was studded with 25 boundaries.  

Dutta was out for 19, while Rohit Kumar scored 21 runs as Punjab eventually folded up their innings on 540 runs.

In reply, the visitors lost  opener Hrishikesh Motkar (4) and skipper Om Bhosale (6) in quick succession. 

Siddesh Veer and Swapnil Fulpagar tried to steady the ship with 63-run stand after Maharashtra lost their third wicket on 49. However, their effort meant little as the side four wickets for just eight runs to close the day at 120/7. — TNS