Punjab bowlers restrict Delhi to 119

Patiala, Dec 16 (UNI) Punjab with 105 runs, hold firm grip over the final match in the Polly Umrigar Trophy (under-15) against Delhi on the opening day today here at the Dhruv Pandove Cricket Stadium.

Winning the toss, Delhi elected to bat first on a perfect batting wicket, but could not withstand the penetrative Punjab bowling and were skittled out for a meagre total of 119 in 53.3 overs. But for Jaideep Chauhan, who scored a painstaking 28 at a snail-pace (101 balls), none of the Delhi batsmen played with any degree of confidence and wickets fell like nine pins.

For Punjab, the wily leg spinner, A Goyal, tormented the Delhi batsmen and captured four wickets, giving away 37 runs. He was ably supported by Pankaj Choudhary who took three for 30 and Sandeep Sharma, who bagged two wickets, conceding 25 runs.

In reply, Punjab has scored 105, losing just two wickets in 49 overs, and are in an impregnable position. In-form batsman Pargat Singh scored a fluent 39 which contained 7 fours and Ankit scored 31, hitting five boundaries.

Manoj Chauhan was the only Delhi bowler to make an impression on the Punjab batsmen, capturing both the wickets, conceding 34 runs.

At close of play, Arjun Kumar was unbeaten on 11 and skipper Mandeep Singh was 19 not out.

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