Col CK Nayudu Trophy: Devang, Nikhil help city recover from setbacks
Recovering from some early setbacks, Chandigarh lads posted 245/4 and still trailed by 139 runs against Kerala’s first innings score of 384 on the second day of the Col CK Nayudu Trophy match at the Mahajan Cricket Grounds.
City openers Devang Kaushik and Arnav Bansal were off to mark with a 91-run partnership for the opening wicket. Kaushik and Bansal led the charge and faced 123 balls to give a good start to the side. As the duo was approaching to complete the 100-run mark, Bansal was caught by Akarsh off Kiran Sagar at 62 off 63 balls, with nine boundaries and three sixes. Dushyant then joined opener Kaushik but the duo could only raise a 17-run partnership. He posted 13 before Kerala wicketkeeper Varun Nayanar stumped him off JS Anuraj.
Gurtaj Singh Bains (14) came to fill-in the shoes of Dushyant, but he too failed to deliver his best. Nayanar caught Bains off Shoun Roger to reduce the hosts at 143/3. Skipper Paras then joined Kaushik and the duo tried their best to push the score further without more damages. However, the skipper lost track of a brimful inswinger and was bowled off Sagar for 15 off 65 balls, with two boundaries.
Down to 174/4, the city innings was facing an acute downfall. However, Kaushik got an able partner in Nikhil and the duo remained unbeaten at stumps. Both Kaushik and Nikhil provided a great breather to the hosts and raised 73-run unbeaten partnership for the fifth wicket.
While Kaushik contributed 83 off 191 balls, with five boundaries and three sixes, Nikhil was one short of his half-century by scoring 49 off 45 balls, studded with two boundaries and four sixes. Sagar claimed 2/50 to remain the highest wicket taker for the bowling side, while Roger and Anuraj took one wicket each.
Earlier, resuming from their overnight total of 325/9, the visiting tail-enders ensured their team gathered maximum runs. Overnight unbeaten centurion Roger was the last man down for the side. He scored 165 off 196 balls, studded with 14 boundaries and four sixes.
Punjab lads register emphatic win
Punjab lads registered an outright an innings and 129-run win over Meghalaya at Ropar Cricket Grounds. Batting first, Punjab lads posted 313 runs and the visitors could muster only 77. Forced to follow-on, Meghalaya batters again fumbled and were sent back to the hut for 177. Punjab innings was bolstered by a 122-run contribution by skipper Uday Saharan. However, it was the Punjab bowlers who wrecked the visitors. Harjas Singh Tandon took eight wickets, while Harshdeep Singh bagged four. Navreet and Manish Sheoran bagged three each and Aryaman Dhaliwal claimed two.
