DP Azad Trophy: Ludhiana lose to Chandigarh by 13 runs

LUDHIANA: Fine batting by Jaish Jain (71) and an equally valuable contribution with the ball by Gurmehar Singh (4 for 29) and Ayush Verma (3 for 43) went in vain, as hosts Ludhiana lost the match by 13 runs against Chandigarh in the ongoing Punjab State Inter-District Cricket (U-19) Tournament for DP Azad Trophy, played at the Jathedar Santokh Singh Margind Sewa Society, Cricket Stadium, Dulay village, near here, on Sunday.

Our Sports Correspondent

Ludhiana, August 5

Fine batting by Jaish Jain (71) and an equally valuable contribution with the ball by Gurmehar Singh (4 for 29) and Ayush Verma (3 for 43) went in vain, as hosts Ludhiana lost the match by 13 runs against Chandigarh in the ongoing Punjab State Inter-District Cricket (U-19) Tournament for DP Azad Trophy, played at the Jathedar Santokh Singh Margind Sewa Society, Cricket Stadium, Dulay village, near here, on Sunday.

Chandigarh skipper Ayush Gautam won the toss and opted to bat first. The visitors were off to a cautious start, losing three wickets at the score of 25. However, Ayush Sikka steadied the innings. He not only played a useful innings of 89 runs, but also figured in two partnerships that pulled Chandigarh out of woods.

Nevertheless, Ludhiana duo Gurmehar Singh and Ayush Verma managed to contain the visitors’ innings to 49.2 overs with 221 runs on the board.

Ludhiana began their chase on a positive note with the opening pair of Chirag Sharma and Jaish Jain putting on 81 runs on the scoreboard. After the departure of Chirag at the individual score of 39 runs, Nehal Wadhera arrived at the wicket. He along with Jaish added 61 runs for the second wicket.

Hosts lost two quick wickets in the form of Jaish and Nehal within two runs. This resulted collapse, as Ludhiana’s reply culminated at 208 runs with eight balls to spare.

For Chandigarh, Amit Shukla was the most successful bowler, grabbing four wickets, while Harshit Singh captured two wickets.

Ludhiana had won its first match against Mohali and in the next one went down against Patiala and with today’s defeat, have four points in its kitty.

Brief scores

Chandigarh: 221 runs all out in 49.2 overs (Ayush Sikka 89, Yuvraj Chowdhary 29, Jashanjot Pannu 25, Arjun Azad 16, Lakshay Rakhra 13 and Tavleen Singh 12; Gurmehar Singh 4 for 29, Ayush Verma 3 for 43, Kanishak Sharma 1 for 26 and Samardeep Kasana 1 for 32).
Ludhiana: 208 run all out in 48.2 overs (Jaish Jain 71, Chirag Sharma 39, Nehal Wadhera 22, Ayush Verma 21and Harmanpreet Singh 18; Amit Shukla 4 for 27, Harshit Singh 2 for 52, Yuvraj Choudhary 1 for 30 and Lakshay Rakhra 1 for 31).