Ranji Trophy: Punjab’s Baltej Singh works his magic

Valsad, January 4

Medium-pacer Baltej Singh’s seven-wicket haul broke Gujarat’s back as Punjab took a firm grip over their Ranji Trophy Group D match here today. Starting Day 2 at 276/7, Punjab were bowled out for 286 after Chintan Gaja completed a five-wicket haul, including the prized scalp of Nehal Wadhera (123).

Baltej then ripped through Gujarat’s batting line-up, dismissing the top seven batters, as Punjab bowled out the hosts for 97. The 32-year-old from Ludhiana finished with career-best First-Class figures of 7/28 from his 16 overs. Mayank Markande picked up two wickets.

Punjab also found the going tough in their second innings but Naman Dhir’s unbeaten 71 helped the visitors reach 156/6 and build a lead of 345 runs.

Brief scores: Punjab 286 all out (Wadhera 123; Gaja 5/66) & 156/6 (Dhir 71) vs Gujarat 97 all out (Baltej 7/28); Haryana 140/5 (Ankit 80; Aaqib 4/50) vs Uttar Pradesh; Baroda 378 (Solanki 178; Abhinay 3/63) vs Himachal Pradesh 223/1 (Chopra 111, Dhawan 56); Delhi 133 vs Saurashtra 503/6 (Vasavada 127*, Desai 107). — Agencies