Punjab crush J

Patiala, Oct 14 (UNI) Punjab inflicted a crushing innings and 128 run defeat on J&K, in the three-day Inter-State Under-22 cricket match here today at the Dhruv Pandove Cricket Stadium here today.

On the second day, Punjab resumed their innings at 167 for three. The overnight not out batsmen, Gaurav Gupta and Uday Kaul sent the J&K bowlers on a leather hunt, scoring centuries.

While Gaurav Gupta scored a breezy 170 in 224 balls, hitting 25 fours, Uday Kaul scored a painstaking 100 in 154 balls, which contained eight fours. Gupta and Kaul were associated in a mammoth partnership of 256 runs.

J&K bowlers toiled hard throughout the afternoon session, with Sameer Ali and Adil Misgar being the only bowlers who met with some success. Both captured two wickets each, conceding 99 and 87 runs respectively.

Punjab declared its innings after it had piled up 398 for the loss of four wickets.

A lead of 260 was enough for Punjab to bowl out J&K in their second innings, which they did admirably.

In their second innings, J&K again floundered and their wickets fell like nine pins. They were all out for 132. Of all the J&K batsmen, only U Bashir stood like a rock, scoring 60 invaluable runs.

For Punjab, Hardevinder Singh took four for 43, while Ankur Jund captured 3 wickets, giving away 14 runs.

Punjab will now play against unfancied Himachal Pradesh on October 29 here at the Dhruv Pandove Cricket Stadium.

UNI XC-HS PM KP1814