Left-hand opener Chetan Sharma missed a century by five runs but Haryana made a comfortable 264-4 on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Plate Division final against the Services at Devi Lal Stadium here today.Chetan Sharma (95) and his partner Bageshwar Bisht (50) justified their captain Ajay Ratra’s decision to bat first as the left-right hand combination gathered 129 runs for the opening wicket.Chetan Sharma hit seven fours and a six in his 200-ball knock. He piled on the agony of the Services bowlers adding another 48 runs with Sunny Singh (52) before falling to off-spinner Yashpal Singh. Though Haryana lost Sunny and Ishan Ganda (9) with the addition of just 45 runs, Shafiq Khan (28 batting) and all-rounder Joginder Sharma (13 batting) ensured no more setbacks till stumps.Brief scores: Haryana (1st Innings): 264-4 in 90 overs (B Bist 50, Chetan Sharma 95, Sunny Singh 52, Shafiq Khan batting 28, Joginder Sharma batting 13, Arun Sharma 2-94, Yashpal Singh 2-46)
