Yuvraj, Munish prop up Punjab

Patiala: Brilliant knocks by opener Minish Sharma (95) and Yuvraj Singh (95) helped Punjab to pile up 323 for 6 in 90 overs against Delhi on the opening day of their third league match of the Cooch Behar (under-19) Trophy at the Dhruv Pandove stadium here today.

Electing to bat, Punjab got an early jolt when opener Ravneet Rickey (0) was bowled by R R Jha with only one run on the board but the other opener Munish Sharma and skipper Yuvraj Singh showed their patience and skill during a 172 run stand for the second wicket. Munish (95) hit 15 fours and faced 174 balls in 198 minutes. He was caught by wicketkeeper Pradeep Chawla off R.R.Jha at 173. Yuvraj (95) hit 16 boundaries in his 168 minute knock, during which he faced 111 balls. He was out to Puru Singh at 199.

Medium pacer R.R.Jha also removed Gaganinder Singh (14), Manav Dhupar (8) and Hari Kishan (0) cheaply but Vivek Mahajan and S.P.Singh took the total from 224 for six to 323 without any further loss, adding 99 runs for the unfinished seventh wicket partnership. At close of play Mahajan was batting on 44 with four boundaries and S.P.Singh was on 64 with the help of a six and eight fours. R.R.Jha captured five wickets for 97 runs.