Ranji trophy: Punjab soar on Baltej Singh's wings

Valsad, January 5

Baltej Singh was a man on a mission as the medium-pacer’s 11-wicket match haul gave Punjab a thumping victory over Gujarat in their Ranji Trophy Group D match here today.

Baltej rattled Gujarat’s batting line-up for the second straight day as he followed up his 7-wicket haul in the first innings with 4/38 today to give the visitors a 380-run victory. The win took Punjab up to third place in the group.

Punjab began Day 3 at 156/6 and leading the hosts by 345 runs. No. 3 batter Naman Dhir continued his good work from yesterday and completed his maiden First-Class century to help Punjab build a massive lead. The 23-year-old, playing in only his fourth First-Class game, scored 134 off 185 balls, with 17 fours and three sixes.

He shared a 123-run partnership for the seventh wicket with leg-spinner Mayank Markande, who scored a dogged 125-ball 62. Young pacer Gurnoor Singh then let loose to score 41 off 15 balls before Punjab declared at 329/9.

Chasing a target of 519 runs, Gujarat lost their first three wickets without scoring a run. The 32-year-old Baltej dismissed the top four batters, while Brar (2/54) and Markande (3/16) followed up their batting displays by snuffing out any chances of a Gujarat fightback. Baltej registered his best First-Class match figures of 11/66, while Markande finished with a five-wicket match haul to go with his third First-Class half-century.

Meanwhile, Railways crushed Jammu and Kashmir by an innings and 73 runs to pick up seven points in another Group D match in Surat. In a Group B match in Rajkot, Delhi suffered an innings and 214-run defeat at the hands of Saurashtra inside three days as the hosts earned a bonus point.

In a Group A match in Lucknow, Ankit Kumar scored 174 while Sumit Kumar (95) missed out on a century by five runs as Haryana scored 365 against Uttar Pradesh before reducing the hosts to 35/3.

Brief scores: Punjab 286 & 329/9 decl (Dhir 134, Markande 62*; Gaja 3/104) vs Gujarat 97 & 138 (Hingrajia 74*; Baltej 4/38, Markande 3/16); Railways 427 vs Jammu & Kashmir 161 & 193 (Rashid 53; Pandey 4/58); Chandigarh 455/3 (Vohra 200, Mahajan 162*) vs Tripura; Delhi 133 & 227 (Shokeen 51; Dodiya 5/91) vs Saurashtra 574/8 decl (Vasavada 152*, Desai 107); Haryana 365 (Ankit 174, Sumit 95; Aaqib 4/73) vs Uttar Pradesh 35/3 (Ajit 2/18). — Agencies