Harbhajan shines in unfamiliar role

A record 96 run last wicket stand between Harbhajan Singh and Bharat Bhushan put hosts Punjab in a commanding position in their Ranji Trophy North Zone encounter against Haryana at Amritsar on Sunday. Off spinner Harbhajan, not particularly known for his prowess with the bat, struck a breezy career-best 84 as his part of the bargain, besides snatching a wicket late in the day to leave Haryana very much on the defensive.

When Punjab resumed at 281/3, medium pacer Vineet Jain dismissed Dinesh Mongia off the first ball of the day. The 23 year old lefthander who just last week caned the Jammu & Kashmir attack for an unbeaten 308, had no such success on this occasion, falling for 12. Reetinder Sodhi's first three scoring strokes were boundaries but his ominous intent was not converted into a big score. The allrounder fell for 25 to offspinner Pankaj Thakur who also removed wicketkeeper Harminder Jugnu cheaply.

Pankaj Dharmani had showed great fortitude in moving to 89 (178 balls, 12 fours) and his departure right on the heels of Jugnu at 359 was a grave setback for Punjab. Two more wickets fell before Harbhajan and Bhushan joined hands. In just over two hours, the duo added 96 with Harbhajan being much the dominant partner, belting 8 fours and 3 sixes in his 102 ball knock. It took part time off spinner Sanjay Dalal to get rid of him with the score at 486, Bhushan returning undefeated on 30. Jain and Thakur were rewarded with three wickets apiece.

In reply Haryana closed at 41/1, the casualty being opener Jasvir Singh for 16. Play ended five overs early due to bad light. P Sehrawat and Ishan Ganda will resume battle on Monday as Haryana strive to wipe out the imposing first innings deficit.