Mohali : Punjab A wriggled out of a tight corner to earn a draw against Gujarat A at Motera Ahmedabad. Being forced to follow on with a first innings deficit of 179 runs Punjab finished the last day on 274 for 6 in 83 overs when stumps were drawn. Resuming at 4 for no loss Punjab lost their opener Pargat Singh for 20 off 28 balls inclusive of 3 boundaries when he was caught by Samit Gohil off medium pacer Jesal Karia. Skipper Taruwar Kohli then joined opener Ravi Inder Singh and the two steadied the innings for a while before Krushang Patel had Ravi Inder Singh plumb in front of the wicket for 15 off 64 balls.
Taruwar Kohli who has been in great nick earlier in the tournament having scored a double hundred and a hundred and this time also scored a business like half century 55 off 115 balls inclusive of 8 boundaries before being caught by Dhruv Rawal off Samit Gohil. Gurkirat Walia did not last long as Jaspreet Bhumrah was caught by Dhruv Rawal for 14. At this stage Punjab were looking down the barrel. Himanshu Chawla and Sharad Lumba got together to stem further rot. They played cautiously to stear their team to realm of safety. Himanshu Chawla finally got out for 66 being caught by Jesal Karia off Parth Parikh. His innings which lasted 117 balls was laced with 8 well struck boundaries and two huge sixes.
Sharad Lumba then found an able partner in Gurinder Singh and the two saw through the day for Punjab. Sharad Lumba completed an unbeaten half century (51) off 93 balls studded with 8 boundaries and two sixes while Gurinder Singh remained unbeaten on 27 off 34 balls inclusive of 5 boundaries. The match ended in a draw with Gujarat claiming 3 points for first innings lead while Punjab registered one point. Samit Gohil 2 for 27, Jaspreet Bhumrah 1 for 14 and K.Patel 1 for 20 were the most successful bowlers for Gujarat.
At the end of round 3 of league Punjab have got 7 points from three outings, Gujarat 7 from three outings. Top two teams from Elite group –A will go into the knock out stage. Punjab and Gujarat are locked at 7 point each. Punjab will play their last league match against Karnataka from 17-20 Nov.,2012 at Bangalore while Gujarat will play their last game against Himachal at Bangalore from 9-12 Nov.,2012.
Brief Scores:
Gujarat 1st Innings
Samit Gohil 99, Dhruv Rawal 47, Chirag Gandhi 60, Himalay Barad 177, Jesal Karia 42 and Krushnag Pael 43
Kamal Passi 4 for 86 and Gurinder Singh 3 for 136
Punjab 1st innings
Pargat Singh 33, Ravi Inder Singh 77, Taruwar Kohli 100, Himanshu Chawla 39, Gurinder Singh 33.
Jaspreet Bumbrah 5 for 87 and Parth Parikh 3 for 79.
Punjab 2nd Innings
Pargat Singh 20, Taruwar Kohli 55, Himanshu Chawla 66, Sharad Lumba 51 not out and Gurinder Singh 27 not out.
Samit Gohil 2 for 27, Jaspreet Bhumrah 1 for 14 and K.Patel 1 for 20