Saurastra, Himachal record facile draw

Dharamsala, Nov 6 (UNI) Saurashtra gained three points by virtue of their 110-run first innings lead over hosts Himachal as their four day Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match ended in a tame draw here today.

Resuming at their over score of 216 for the loss of six wickets, Saurashtra suffered an early blow when the parnernership between C Pujara and R Druv came to an end with the dismissal of the former.

Pujara, a former India Under-19 player, whose patient knock of 109 saved the day for the visitors, was clean bowled by V Malik.

His 110 run partnership with Druv saved Saurashtra from an imminent batting collapse.

The rest of the Saurashtra batsmen failed to impress with as many as five of them failing to reach double figures.

A Thakur of Himachal, who scalped five wickets in the second innings, was the most impressive among the bowlers. He displayed outstanding performances in both innings and claimed a total of 11 wickets giving away just 126 runs.

Himachal, needing 384 to win in their second innings suffered an early jolt when Sandeep Sharma was dismissed with the score at a mere 19 runs.

After the fall of the second wicket, A Mannu joined opener Manish Gupta in the middle. They put up a partnership of 120 runs before Manish was caught by Bambhaniya off the bowling of Makwana for a personal score of 104.

The rest of the Himachal batsmen held on to secure a facile draw.

Saurashtra will next play Delhi from November 15 to 18.

MORE UNI