City bowlers fight back to keep Maharashtra in check despite Gaikwad’s ton

Chandigarh, A spirited bowling display by Chandigarh to remain in the contest at stumps on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy against Maharashtra at the Sector 16 Cricket Stadium, Chandigarh on Saturday Despite a majestic century from Maharashtra’s opener Ruturaj Gaikwad who scored a fine 116 off 163 balls, the Chandigarh bowlers kept striking at regular intervals to bowl out the visitors for 313 in 85.5 overs by the end of Day one.

Opting to bowl first after winning the toss, pace battery Jagjit Singh Sandhu demolished the opponents by removing Prithvi Shaw (8) and SA Veer (7) cheaply to leave Maharashtra wobbling at 34 for 2. Later, Abhishek Saini took the charge, dismissing the well-set Arshin Kulkarni (50) and skipper A.R. Bawane (8) to reduce Maharashtra to a shaky 83 for 4 before lunch.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra found their anchor Ruturaj Gaikwad who stitched a crucial 152-run partnership for the fifth wicket with wicketkeeper S.S. Nawale (66 off 122 balls) and rescued the visitors

The introduction of spin brought about a turnaround as Raman Bishnoi (2/14) and Vishu Kashyap (2/44) applied pressure in the middle overs. Bishnoi’s clever variation accounted for Nawale and Jalaj Saxena in quick succession with 239/6 on the board. From the other end, Kashyap’s disciplined spell turned the tide as he dismissed centurion Gaikwad and later accounted for lower-order batter Vicky Ostwal (16) leaving Maharashtra reeling at 282 for 8. Abhishek Saini then struck to remove RS Ghosh (31) while Jagjit Singh Sandhu sealed the innings by clean-bowling PC Dadhe for a duck. Maharashtra’s innings eventually folded for 313 with their last five wickets tumbling for just 78 runs.

Earlier, Saini (3/55) and Jagjit Singh Sandhu (3/79) were the pick of the bowlers sharing six wickets between them.

Brief Scores: Maharashtra 313 all out in 85.5 overs (Rituraj Gaikwad 116, SS Nawale 66; Abhishek Saini 3/55, Jagjit Singh Sandhu 3/79, Chandigarh yet to bat.

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UTCA announces U-23 team for Col. CK Nayudu Trophy, team to start their campaign against Railways at home ground

Chandigarh,  The UT Cricket Association has announced its Under-23 boys’ team for the upcoming BCCI Men’s Under-23 Col. C.K. Nayudu Trophy commencing from October 26 at GMSSS-26 Chandigarh.

Chandigarh is placed in Elite Group D alongside Railways, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The team will open its campaign against Railways on Sunday.

Squad: Dushyant Thaman, Dipender Kush, Deevang Kaushik, Nikhil Kumar, Paras Kumar, Adhiraj Singh, Raghav Verma, Aarush Bhandari, Ashutosh Gautam, Ivraj Ranauta, Ishan Garg, Tanmay Latka, Neel Dhaliwal, Jaskirat Mehra, Aryan Duggal.