Gurkeerat Mann comes to Punjab’s rescue

October 08, 2016 03:02 am | Updated November 01, 2016 11:38 pm IST - NEW DELHI:

The flair and aggression of Gurkeerat Mann helped steady Punjab after early losses against Railways on day two of its Ranji Trophy match here on Friday.

Mann was unbeaten on 66 at stumps with Punjab 154 for four chasing Railways’ first innings score of 331. Uday Kaul had dropped anchor at the other end with a patient 59 off 159 balls and for a team that bats deep, how the pair continues on the third day would be instrumental to the team’s chances.

With runs choked and wickets falling, Punjab was 44 for four when Mann walked in in the 23rd over. Whether it was the disappointment of being ignored for the ODIs against New Zealand or a desire to prove that his failure in Australia earlier this year was a one-off, he energised the Punjab scoreboard, crawling till then.

The wicket was expected to ease out but the Railways seamers maintained their line and discipline to subdue Punjab. Manan Vohra nicked one from former teammate Deepak Bansal to a diving Mahesh Rawat behind the stumps and Jiwanjot Singh perished in a replay six balls later, this time from Anureet Singh. Mandeep Singh, named for the first three ODIs, managed as many runs before being bowled by Bansal.

Yuvraj falls

Yuvraj Singh walked in, struggled to play shots off two balls in a row, and started the long, slow walk back after a painful 62 minutes at the crease for his nine runs.

Mann’s 10 fours were spread all over the field from extra cover to third man, he ran quick singles and survived a run out chance after a mix-up that had both batsmen stranded in the middle. Mann brought up his 50 with a straight six, the only one of the innings, off Karn Sharma without so much as attempting to move out of the crease. Kaul got his own 50 as the duo ended the day with a 110-run unbroken partnership.

Earlier in the day, Railways resumed on 257 for five but Siddharth Kaul picked up three early wickets to complete his fifer, including overnight batsmen Shivakant Shukla, out leg-before on 128, and Ashish Yadav, caught at slip for 81. Once they were gone with the score on 296, it was a matter of time before the rest folded up after a brief resistance by Sharma and Bansal, 20 minutes before lunch.

The scores:

Railways — 1st innings: Sourabh Wakaskar c Yuvraj Singh b Manpreet Grewal 0, Shivakant Shukla lbw b Siddharth Kaul 128, Akshat Pandey lbw b Siddharth Kaul 3, V. Cheluvuraj b Siddharth Kaul 19, Arindam Ghosh lbw b Vinay Choudhary 11, Mahesh Rawat c Mandeep Singh b Yuvraj Singh 35, Ashish Yadav c Gitansh Khera b Siddharth Kaul 81, Karn Sharma c Uday kaul b Gurkeerat Mann 27, Anureet Singh c Gitansh Khera b Siddharth Kaul 0, Deepak Bansal (not out) 15, Manjeet Choudhary c Mandeep Singh b Vinay Choudhary 2; Extras (b-2, lb-4, nb-2, w-2): 10; Total (in 118 overs): 331.

Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-15, 3-57, 4-76, 5-133, 6-283, 7-290, 8-297, 9-328.

Punjab bowling: Sandeep Sharma 24-6-65-0, Manpreet Grewal 21-2-64-1, Siddharth Kaul 22-3-68-5, Mandeep Singh 4-1-11-0, Vinay Choudhary 26-7–59-2, Gurkeerat Mann 11-2-26-1, Yuvraj Singh 8-1-29-1, Jiwanjot Singh 2-0-3-0.

Punjab — 1st innings: Manan Vohra c Rawat b Bansal 5, Jiwanjot Singh c Rawat b Anureet 9, Uday Kaul (batting) 59, Mandeep Singh b Bansal 3, Yuvraj Singh c Ghosh b Choudhary 9, Gurkeerat Mann (batting) 66; Extras (lb-2, nb-1): 3; Total (for four wkts. in 57 overs): 154.

Fall of wickets: 1-15, 2-15, 3-20, 4-44.

Railways bowling: Anureet Singh 15-3-42-1, Ashish Yadav 11-2-23-0, Deepak Bansal 11-3-28-2, Akshat Pandey 4-3-3-0, Manjeet Choudhary 5-1-25-1, Shivakant Shukla 2-0-8-0, Karn Sharma 9-1-23-0.

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