Simran, Kashish put Ludhiana in driver’s seat

Ludhiana, May 24

Excellent bowling by Simranjeet (6/24) and a fine batting by Kashish Panseja (123 not out) and Deepin Chitkara (80 not out) put hosts Ludhiana in the driver’s seat against Ferozepur on the opening day in the Punjab Inter-District Cricket Tournament for Katoch Shield at GRD Academy, Hambran Road, here today.

Inviting the visitors to bat first, Ludhiana restricted them to a paltry total of 72 runs in 33.1 overs. Only two batsmen, Nikhil Malhotra and Uttejit Hans, could reach double figures. They contributed 37 and 28 runs, respectively, while six players were out without opening their accounts. The highlight of first day’s play was the accurate and penetrative bowling by Ludhiana’s Simranjeet. He bowled 11 overs, five of which were maiden, and claimed six wickets after conceding just 24 runs. Moreover, Ludhiana did not concede a single run as extras.

The hosts were then buoyed by a second consecutive century by Kashish, who had hit 127 runs against Jalandhar to help Ludhiana take first innings lead and secure three points from the match. Ludhiana began their reply on a shaky note, losing the first wicket at the score of 10. But Kashish Panseja and Sunny Pandey took the total to 133 runs before the latter lost his wicket after scoring 48 runs.

Deepin Chitkara joined Kashish and the pair steered Ludhiana to 269 runs. Kashish was batting at 123, which included 12 fours, while Deepin was on 80, which came off just 83 balls with the help of eight boundaries.

Brief scores

Ferozepur (first innings): 72 all out in 33.1 overs (Nikhil Malhotra 37, Uttetjit Hans 28; Simranjeet 6/24, Krishan 2/8, Hartesava 1/16 and Sukhjinder 1/24). Ludhiana (first innings): 269/2 after 58 overs (Kashish Panseja 123*, Deepin Chitkara 80*, Sunny Pandey 48; Tavinder 1/54, Piyush 1/55). — OC