Punjab defeat Himachal by seven wickets

Himachal Pradesh tasted a seven wicket defeat in their first match of the North Zone Ranji Trophy One day tournament at the hands of Punjab at the Harbax Singh Stadium, Delhi on Friday.

Batting first, the Himachal batsmen never looked comfortable playing the Punjab attack and managed just 110 in 33.1 overs. Sandeep Sharma put up a fine display of medium pace bowling bagging four for 52. He was well supported by Harbhajan Singh, who spun a web around the batsmen scalping three for 15 runs.

In reply, Punjab had early hiccups when they lost two quick wickets for 15 runs. Rahul Panta accounted for both openers. Ravneet Ricky (25) hung around but was dismissed with the scoreboard reading 56. Pankaj Dharmani (36) and Dinesh Mongia (32) however figured in an unbeaten 55 run partnership for the fourth wicket off 10 overs to guide Punjab home in the 23rd over. Punjab got two points from the easy victory.