Despite an excellent day with the ball, and then with the bat, Punjab’s Arshdeep Singh could not save his team from a heavy defeat in the Vijay Hazare Trophy quarters vs Maharashtra, on Saturday. First, the Punjab player returned with figures of 3/56 to restrict the opposition to 275 in the first innings, and then scored 49 in 39 deliveries, to put up a brave show, but all in vain.
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The day started poorly for Ruturaj Gaikwad-led Maharashtra, who lost their first two wickets for only 8 runs. Then Arshin Kulkari and Ankit Bawne stabilized the innings with a 147-run stand. The former also scored his maiden ton (107 from 137 deliveries) in his debut List A match for his side. Later in the innings, wicket-keeper Nikhil Naik scored a crucial 52 to take his team to a respectable total.
Meanwhile, apart from Arshdeep Singh’s three-wicket haul, off-spinner Naman Dhir also returned with a couple of wickets. The only other wicket-taker for Punjab was, skipper Abhishek Sharma, who had one wicket to his name. Come the second innings, India hopefuls Abhishek and Prabhsimran Singh also got out cheaply, despite being in fine nick in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
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Arshdeep Singh Fires with Bat and Ball
Anmolpreet Singh did try to rescue the chase, with a 77-ball 48, but then the match had already slipped away. Arshdeep, without much care for the result, gave a good account of his batting skills — smashing three fours and three sixes in his breezy innings of 49. Left-arm pacer Mukesh Choudhary was the star with ball bagging 3/44. Arshin Kulkarni too bagged a wicket for just 7 runs. Eventually, Punjab lost the match by 70 runs, to bow out of the tournament.
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