Himachal fail in quest for outright victory

The Ranji Trophy North Zone league match between Services and Himachal Pradesh ended in a draw at the Palam Ground in Delhi today. Services resumed in the morning still requiring another 93 to make their opponents bat again but as it turned out they quite comfortably batted through the day to finish on 339/6 from 121.5 overs.

Earlier, Harish Bhaskar and Amit Nadkarni carried off from where they left at 80/1 last evening. Nadkarni was bowled by Jaswant Rai for 65 (135 balls, 9 fours) but Bhaskar was a more durable customer, remaining to negotiate 256 balls for his 82, which included 8 fours. Late in the day, JP Pandey and Syed Javed put together an entertaining 95 run stand in just over 23 overs.

Pandey's 50 (8 fours and a six) took 96 deliveries while Javed's 52 (6 fours, 2 sixes) was the quicker effort, coming off just 75 balls. Both were still unconquered when the match was called off. Amit Sharma was the most successful bowler with 3/98. Himachal Pradesh collected five points and Services three from the drawn encounter.