Harbhajan declares intent

Harbhajan Singh may have earned a lot of criticism for his defensive traits in Test cricket,but a couple of weeks after getting the axe

Harbhajan Singh may have earned a lot of criticism for his defensive traits in Test cricket,but a couple of weeks after getting the axe,he seems to have resorted back to his aggressive cricketing ways. On Friday,the Punjab captain showed his positive intent by declaring at 255/9 just four runs ahead in the first innings against Orissa in Mohali.

As he watched his tailenders Gitansh Khera and Sandeep Sharma notch a 35-run stand for the ninth wicket and edge above Orissas first innings total of 251 at the fag end of their game,Harbhajan decided to allow his bowlers to have a crack at the opposition,even if play lasted just one over before stumps were drawn.

This after what was another difficult day for Harbhajan. Punjab lost opener Sarul Kanwar first ball,and were soon reduced to 26/3. But as push came to shove,Uday Kaul scripted a rescue act.

Kaul,who has been the highest run scorer for Punjab in the last four seasons,played Orissas pacers with authority. But the contest of the day was between off-spinner Lagnajit Samal and Kaul.

Samal extracted sharp turn from the wicket and regularly invited the Punjab batsmen to drive.

His hard work eventually paid off,as he dismissed Kaul for 62. While Mayank Sidhana and Karan Goel did well for their scores of 30 and 36 respectively,it was Harbhajans blink-and-miss that brought the most cheers of the day,as he smashed back-to-back sixes for his 9-ball 14.

Brief scores: Orissa first innings 251amp; 0/0 B Mohanty not out 60,S Sahoo 56,D Behera 48,S Sharma 5/53,B Sran 3/66 vs Punjab first innings 255 for 9 dec U Kaul 62,G Khera 47,L Samal 3/36,B Mohanty 3/76,A Mangaraj 2/57

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Orissa sack Das
Cuttack: Haladhar Das,who was recently made the captain of Orissas Ranji team,was axed for the entire season by the state cricket association OCA on disciplinary grounds. The wicketkeeper-batsman was sacked two days ago after having returned to the team hotel in an inebriated state on the eve of the teams match against Punjab,OCA secretary Asirbad Behera claimed on Friday.

It was learnt that Das and two new players had gone out of the hotel in the evening without the permission of the manager and returned around 9.45 pm in an inebriated state, Behera said on friday.