Ranji Trophy: City lads end innings, post 173 against Punjab

Chandigarh batters fumbled with 173 runs on the board against Punjab on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy tie at the Sector 16 Cricket Stadium. Chasing a modest total, Punjab lads also had a shaky start, as they posted 71/3 when the stumps were drawn for the day.

After winning the toss, Punjab skipper Uday Saharan put Chandigarh to bat on their home turf. While the batters were expected to take some advantage of the known conditions, the line-up bundled out at 173.

Making a couple of changes in the squad didn’t help Chandigarh to raise the bar. Gaurav Puri, who usually plays up in the order, held the crease with Thakur. However, the partnership didn’t last long as Thakur (63 off 105 balls, with nine boundaries) was caught by Salil Arora off Abhinav Sharma.

In reply, Punjab started off well but failed to save wickets. Opener Jaskaranvir Singh Paul (4) fell early to Jagjit Singh Sandhu, while Harnoor Singh Pannu (29 off 60 balls), who hogged the limelight on his debut, was trapped by Vishu. Skipper Saharan (31 off 44 balls) also fell to Vishu, before Punjab closed the day at 71/3, with Jashanpreet Singh (5) and Ayush Goyal (2) unbeaten on the crease.