Yuvraj steadies Punjab innings

Hosts trail Karnataka by ten runs

Earlier, Karnataka started the day with 346 for six on board but were bundled out for 426 runs in their first innings in reply to Punjab’s total of 243.

The architects of Karnataka’s big first innings score were Robin Uthappa, who scored a scintillating 149, Manish Pandey (49) and wicket-keeper batsman CM Gautam (60).
For hosts, the main wicket-taker was Manpreet Gony with three for 92 runs followed NTS Sidhu and Rajwinder Singh who scalped two wickets each.

Keeping in mind Karnataka’s first innings lead, Punjab started their second innings on a cautious note with openers adding 84 runs. But S Kanwar was soon removed by left-arm pacer S Aravind. He scored 39 runs with seven hits to fence and a towering six.

Ravi Inder Singh chipped in with a useful knock of 52 runs before felling prey to pacer A Mithun with the teams score reading 111. Yuvraj was unbeaten on 52 facing 78 balls with eight hits to the fence.

Giving him company was Vikas Bhalla playing at an individual score of 22 facing 86 balls. With the match heading for draw Karnataka hold a strong position due to their first innings lead.

Score Board

PUNJAB (I Innings): 243 all out in 89.5 overs
KARNATAKA (I Innings, O/n: 346/6 ): Amit Verma c & b Gony 60, CM Gautam c Kanwar b Rajwinder Singh 6, R Vinay Kumar c Kaul b Gony 14, Sunil Joshi b Harmeet Singh 17, A Mithun b Rajwinder Singh 8, S Arvind (not out) 5. Extras (B-12, LB-8, W-10, NB-8) 38. Total (all out, 115.5 overs) 426.
Fall of wickets: 5-316, 6-330, 7-361, 8-380, 9-418.
Bowling: Harmeet Singh 23-5-68-1, Manpreet Gony 25.5-4-92-3, Navdeep Sidhu 27-3-106-2, Rajwinder Singh 26-4-78-2, Vishwas Bhalla 3-0-15-0, Karan Goel 7-2-25-0, Yuvraj Singh 4-0-22-0.
PUNJAB (II Innings): Sarul Kanwar c Pandey b Aravind 39, Ravi Inder Singh c Gautam b Mithun 52, Yuvraj Singh (batting) 52, Vishawas Bhalla (batting) 22. Extras (B-5, LB-2, W-1) 8. Total (for 2 wkts; 55 overs) 173.
Fall of wickets: 1-84, 2-111.
Bowling:  R Vinay Kumar 14-5-32-0, A Mithun 12-0-54-1, S Aravind 11-2-37-1, Amit Verma 5-4-9-0, Sunil Joshi 13-3-34-0.