Punjab buried Chhattisgarh under a mountain of runs and set itself up for a bonus-point win on Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy second round fixture at the New PCA Stadium in New Chandigarh on Monday.
Salil Arora (107, 226b, 10×4) and Uday Saharan (161, 299b, 15×4) extended their overnight partnership that propelled Punjab to 456 in the first innings, but it was Harpreet Brar (5/21) tearing through the batting order in just eight overs that left Chhattisgarh scrambling at 72 for five at stumps.
The weariness from toiling five sessions in the field was evident from the outset. Ayush Pandey and Sanidhya Hurkat smothered boundaries through the cordon but also heedlessly poked their bats outside the off-stump line.
Punjab waited just four overs before introducing Harpreet from one end. The left-arm orthodox drew an outside edge from Sanidhya, who was snaffled at first slip.
Gurnoor Brar was denied two wickets in one over. He trapped Ashutosh in front with inswing but overstepped and three deliveries later the edge he drew from Pandey was spilled by Shubman Gill at first slip.
Pandey’s reprieve was brief as Harpreet drew him forward and caught his bat-pad for a simple grab at short leg.
Sanjeet Desai and Ashutosh were beginning to find a recourse when Harpreet struck for a third time. Desai opted for a paddle sweep but missed the line and was given leg-before. Harpreet then foxed Ashutosh with a delivery that zipped straight and hit him on the backfoot.
Sharp turn took Dharmendra Jadeja’s inside edge and flew to leg slip, thus handing Harpreet his third First-Class fifer.
In the morning session, Salil brought up his second straight century while Saharan registered his highest First-Class score, during their 191-run fifth-wicket stand.
Saharan was examined by a bouncer barrage from Sandeep Warrier but emerged unharmed, and even rubbed it into the Chhattisgarh captain by hooking him through fine leg. Having played out time on the first day, Salil finally switched gears after the first hour, beginning with a cover driven boundary off Warrier.
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Dharmendra Jadeja (7/173) packed more venom into his bowling, courtesy of the turn and slightly extra bounce on offer. It was to the Punjab pair’s merit that it survived despite getting beaten and edging several times off Jadeja.
Jadeja finally found a breach in the resistance in the second session by changing the angle from over-the-wicket to Saharan. He floated a delivery away from Saharan and nabbed him caught behind. Shortly after his 214-ball century, Salil botched a sweep of a regulation length ball and was pinned.
Harpreet and Harjas Tandon put up brief cameos, including a booming hit from the former over long-on, but Jadeja’s puzzle was never really going to be cracked by the tail-enders.
Punjab lost its last five wickets for just 47 runs, but in hindsight it was more than enough to turn the screws on Chhattisgarh.
Published on Oct 19, 2026
