Rahul Panta shines in drawn match

Una: The four day North Zone Ranji Trophy match between Himachal Pradesh and Services ended in a draw here yesterday as the hosts failed to achieve a victory target of 257 runs set by Services.

A determined bid by Rahul Panta, who took six wickets for 103 runs and scored an unbeaten century in the second innings, failed to ensure victory for Himachal who got three points against five earned by Services.

Resuming at the overnight score of 90 for three, Services declared the second innings at 248 for eight. Sachin Kulkarni scored 54 runs for his side while Harish Bhaskar and Sappan Dutta scored 39 and 30 runs respectively. Pankaj also scored 30 while Thomson and M.V.Rao got 28 and 27 runs.

In their second innings, Himachal scored 164 runs for loss of five wickets. Rahul Panta who opened the innings scored an unbeaten 100 with the help of two sixes and eleven fours from 117 balls.

M.V.Rao took two wickets for 84 runs while Sanjay Verma claimed one wicket for 13 runs in four overs.