Harpreet Brar’s seven-for puts Punjab on top against Chhattisgarh

Harpreet Brar’s seven-wicket haul has put Punjab in command of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match against Chhattisgarh at the New PCA Stadium. The left-arm spinner’s 7/56 helped dismiss Chhattisgarh for 206 in reply to Punjab’s first-innings total of 456. Punjab enforced the follow-on and reduced the visitors to 123/3 at stumps on Day 3, with Chhattisgarh still trailing by 127 runs.

What we know

Punjab’s first innings was built around Uday Saharan’s 161. Salil Arora added 107 and Prabhsimran Singh made 62 as the side reached 456 in 152.5 overs. Dharmendrasinh Jadeja was Chhattisgarh’s most successful bowler with figures of 7/173. In reply, Amandeep Khare’s 91 off 154 balls offered resistance, supported by Vikalp Tiwari’s 47 off 81 balls. The pair added 83 for the sixth wicket before Harjas Tandon caught Tiwari plumb in front off an arm-ball. Khare was eventually caught off Harpreet as Chhattisgarh lost their last five wickets for 78 runs and were bowled out for 206 in 64.5 overs.

Punjab’s spinners exploited a dry pitch. Harpreet took his wickets in 23.5 overs, bringing his match tally to eight. Emanjot Singh Chahal then produced a disciplined second-innings spell of 2/13 from 14 overs, eight of which were maidens. He dismissed Sanidhya Hurkat for 25 and Ashutosh Singh for a duck in quick succession. Harpreet also removed Sanjeet Desai for a duck, leaving Chhattisgarh at 48/2.

What happens next

Aayush Pandey and Amandeep Khare rebuilt the innings after the early collapse. Pandey made a patient 59 off 161 balls and Khare reached 37, taking Chhattisgarh to 123/3 in 54 overs at stumps. Punjab will look to exploit the spin-friendly conditions.

Sources

• Hindustan Times

• The Hindu

• Photo: Unknown, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)