Skipper Uday Saharan's unbeaten 117 hands Punjab 8-wicket win over Chandigarh

Chandigarh, Nov 10 (PTI) Young captain Uday Saharan led from the front with an unbeaten 117 to guide Punjab to an eight-wicket win over Chandigarh, their first of the season, in a Ranji Trophy Group B match here Monday.

The 21-year-old Saharan, who captained India to runners-up finish in the U19 World Cup in 2024, struck 117 not out off 194 balls with the help of 15 fours as Punjab chased down the target of 227 on the third day to collect six points.

Saharan, who made his first class debut this season, found an able ally in Jashanpreet Singh (57 not out), with whom he added 139 runs for the unbroken third-wicket stand to take Punjab to 227 for 2 in 66.4 overs at the Sector 16 stadium.

The right-handed batter had made 31 in the Punjab first innings total of 142 in reply to Chandigarh's 173.

Resuming the day at 168 for 7, Chandigarh folded for 195, leaving Punjab a target of 227 to win the match.

Punjab bowlers Ayush Goyal (4/48) and Harpreet Brar (3/56) ran through the Chandigarh batting line-up. Ankit Kaushik top-scored for Chandigarh with 38.

Saharan had made 126 and 16 against Goa in a drawn Group B match last week.

In another Group B match in Mangalapuram, Chirag Jani struck a brilliant 152 off 204 balls (14x4, 4x6) to help Saurashtra reach 351 for five at stumps after resuming the day at overnight 47 for 1 against hosts Kerala.

Saurashtra, who were bowled out for 160 in their first innings, slumped to 69 for three but Jani and Aarpit Vasavada (74 off 147 balls) stitched 174 runs for the fourth wicket to take their side to a position of strength.

Prerak Mankad then played an aggressive innings of 52 not out from 61 balls, hitting nine fours, and he was at the crease with Ansh Gosai (1 not out) at the end of the day's play.

Saurashtra, who had conceded a 73-run first innings lead to Kerala, were now 278 runs ahead with five wickets in hand with a day left to play. They are winless in three games and desperately need full points to remain in contention for the knockouts from Group B.

Brief Scores: In Mangalapuram: Saurashtra: 160 and 351 for 5 in 90 overs (Chirag Jani 151, Arpit Vasavada 74, Prerak Mankad 52 batting; Nedumankuzhy Basil 2/46) vs Kerala 233.

In Pune: Karnataka: 313 and 144 for 5 in 49.4 overs (Mayank Agarwal batting 64; Mukesh Choudhary 3/70) vs Maharashtra 300 all out in 99.2 overs (Prithvi Shaw 71, Jalaj Saxena 72; Shreyas Gopal 4/70, Mohsin Khan 3/64).

In Porvorim: Goa: 284 all out in 95.5 overs (Suyash Prabhudessai 65; Saransh Jain 4/78) vs Madhya Pradesh 187 all out in 76 overs (Saransh Jain 48, Rishabh Chouhan 43; Vasuki Koushik 5/34).

In Chandigarh: Chandigarh: 173 and 195 all out in 68.5 overs (Ankit Kaushik 38; Ayush Goyal 4/48, Harpreet Brar 3/56) lost to Punjab 142 and 227 for 2 in 66.4 overs (Uday Saharan 117 not out, Jashanpreet Singh 57 not out; Raj Bawa 1/45) by 8 wickets.

Punjab: 6 points; Chandigarh: 0 point. PTI PDS PDS AT AT