Ranji trophy: Punjab rout Haryana, Delhi knocked out

New Delhi, February 27

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Punjab crushed Haryana by 10 wickets here today to take a firm grip on the top position in the Group F of the Ranji Trophy. Punjab earned seven points from the match, including one bonus point, to take their total to 10 after two matches. With all teams having played two games, Himachal Pradesh lie second with eight points while Haryana have three points and Tripura have one.

Resuming their second innings today at 149/4 after being made to follow on, Haryana folded up with the addition of only 54 runs in the day. Pacemen Baltej Singh (3/17) and Siddarth Kaul (2/75) shared five wickets while left-arm spinner Abhishek Sharma picked up three for 15, leaving Punjab with an easy target of 42, which they achieved in 8.5 overs. Baltej returned with a match haul of seven wickets while Kaul finished with five wickets.

Brief scores: Punjab 444 & 45/0; Haryana 282 & 203 (Sindhu 57; Abhishek 3/15, Baltej 3/17, Kaul 2/75)

Delhi lose to Jharkhand

Guwahati: Dhruv Shorey’s counterattacking hundred set up an exciting final hour but Shahbaz Nadeem’s second five-wicket haul of the match enabled Jharkhand to beat Delhi by 15 runs in their Group H match. With the loss, Delhi have one point from two matches and are out of the race for the knockout stage.

Shorey struck a superb 136 off 177 balls to keep Delhi in the hunt in the chase of 335. However, Delhi wilted under pressure in the final half-hour when Nadeem (5/83 off 31 overs) and fellow left-arm spinner Anukul Roy (2/71 off 20.4 overs) closed down run-scoring opportunities.

India Under-19 captain Yash Dhull, who scored two centuries on debut in the previous game, was rudely brought down to earth as he managed 19 and 5 runs against Jharkhand.

Shorey put up a strong fight, even as only one other batsman — Jonty Sidhu — scored a half-century, a 79-ball 59. The two added 87 runs for the fifth wicket.

Brief scores: Jharkhand 251 & 307/7 decl (Kumar Suraj 131*, Nazim Siddiqui 110; Nitish Rana 3/47); Delhi 224 & 319 (Shorey 136, Sidhu 59; Nadeem 5/83)

Karnataka thrash J&K

Chennai: Karnataka posted an emphatic 117-run win over Jammu and Kashmir on the fourth and final day of their Group C match here today. India pacer Prasidh Krishna, who picked up six wickets in the first innings, bagged four more scalps to end with 10/94 for the match as Karnataka bowled J&K out for 390. J&K captain Ian Dev Singh Chauhan scored a stubborn 110 off 188 balls, striking 15 fours and two sixes.

Brief scores: Karnataka 302 & 298/3 decl; J&K 93 & 390 (Rashid 65, Ian Dev Singh 110, Samad 70; Krishna 4/59, Gopal 4/155). —