Chandigarh, Despite a heroic resistance from opener Arjun Azad who notched up a magnificent century in his second stint, UT boys fell short by 144 runs against Maharashtra side in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group encounter at the Sector 16 Cricket Stadium, Chandigarh on Tuesday.
Chasing a massive target of 464, Chandigarh began confidently on the final day as overnight batters – skipper Manan Vohra and Arjun Azad resume their show from 129/1. Showing remarkable temperament Arjun compiled a fluent 168 off 236 balls hammered with 17 boundaries and six sixes keeping the hosts in the hunt for a major part of the innings. He found valuable support from skipper Manan Vohra (58) as the duo stitched a solid 134-run partnership for the second wicket.
After the dismissal of Manan Vohra (58), Raj Angad Bawa and Arjun offered strong resistance and stitched together a crucial 121-run stand. Bawa (41) was eventually trapped lbw by Jalaj Saxena by leaving the team at 281/5. His departure triggered a collapse as M.G. Choudhary (4/34) and R.S. Ghosh (4/71) tightened their grip on the game. The duo combined to claim the final five wickets for just 38 runs and bowled otChandigarh out for 319 in 94.1 overs .
Earlier, Maharashtra were bowled out for 313 in their first innings with Ruturaj Gaikwad (116) leading the charge with a brilliant century. In response, the UT boys faltered for 209 and gave visitors a commanding first-innings lead of 104 runs. The third day belonged entirely to star opener Prithvi Shaw (222) who produced a record double century to set a daunting target of 464 for the hosts.
Chandigarh bowlers delivered a disciplined performance to dismiss Railways for a modest 163 in their second innings on day four of the Col. CK Nayudu Trophy match at GMSSS Sector 26 on Tuesday. The hosts comfortably chased down the target of 75 runs, losing four wickets in the process to register a convincing six-wicket victory in their opening encounter on Tuesday.
Earlier, Railways, resuming their second innings from 154/6 and failed to build partnerships as skipper Neel Dhaliwal (3/17) and Jaskirat Singh Mehra (3/38) ripped through the middle order. The support also came from Paras (2/21) as Railways folded in 45.3 overs despite valiant knocks from Abhishek Kaushal (44) and wicketkeeper Sachin Kakodia (41).
Chasing 76 for victory, Chandigarh lost four wickets against Monty Jaiswal (3/35) and Damandeep Singh (1/7). Later opener Dushyant (31) anchored the chase while Paras Kumar’s quickfire 21 off 8 balls ensured Chandigarh reached the target comfortably in 18.3 overs by sealing a six-wicket win.
