Ludhiana-Patiala cricket tie ends in draw

The first league match of Group D in the Punjab State Inter-District Senior (Multi-Days) Cricket Tournament for Katoch Shield, played between Ludhiana and Patiala, ended in a draw with both the teams securing two points each. The match was played at HR Saggi Ground in Patiala.

Ludhiana won the toss and elected to bat first. They were bowled out for 135 runs in 31 overs. Except for opener Jaish Jain, no other batsman put up any resemblance of resistance. He scored 57 runs while Harjas Singh Tandon of Patiala captured six wickets for just 18 runs in eight overs.

Patiala, in their first innings, made 221 runs in 40.2 overs with Anmol Malhotra remaining unbeaten on 72 runs while Vihaan Malhotra scored 56 runs. IPL player Prabhsimran Singh contributed 36 runs and Prabhjot Singh chipped in with 24 runs.

For the visitors, Ravi Kumar and Yogjit Singh Kalsi shared the bowling honours. Ravi sent back five batsmen conceding 65 runs while Yogjit scalped five wickets after giving away 67 runs.

Trailing by 86 runs, Ludhiana, in their second innings, were struggling with their back to the wall with just 39 runs on board after losing four wickets. It continued to rain on the second day, forcing the players to remain indoors resulting in the match ending in a draw.

In the second match to be played at Sangrur on August 14-15, Ludhiana will take on Sangrur.