Punjab batting strength ensures lead in drawn game

The Punjab-Delhi Under-22 encounter at the Palam Ground in New Delhi saw visitors Punjab take home 5 points after the match was drawn today, on the third and final day. Despite letting Delhi get 336 in their first essay, Punjab batted out the rest of the match to make 591/8. Having let Punjab get such a huge lead, Delhi had to be content with 3 points.

On winning the toss on Friday, Delhi skipper S Rauf elected to bat first. Stumper Varun Kumar did his skipper proud by slamming 147 (295 balls, 22 fours) at the top of the order. However, Varun Kumar had very little support from his teammates. Only S Vaid with 58 managed to stick around at the crease for a while, but that too was not enough. After 123.2 overs of batting, Delhi could manage only 336.

Punjab with their strong batting line up brushed aside the Delhi score with ease. Opting not to make a match of it, Punjab batted out the remaining time to reach 591/8 when the match ended. For Punjab all batsmen were among the runs, but Under-19 star Ravneet Ricky was by far the best, with 146 (253 balls, 23 fours). Apart from Ricky, Amit Behl (85), Ankur Kakkar (98) and Harikrishnan Kali (90) were among the runs. As it turned out, Punjab were happy with the 5 points they got from securing the first innings lead and the match ended in the tamest of draws.