Punjab concede first innings lead

Uttar Pradesh seized the crucial first innings lead on the third day of their Elite Group B match.

Uttar Pradesh seized the crucial first innings lead on the third day of their Elite Group B match. Uttar Pradesh lost two quick wickets as they approached Punjabs first innings total of 288. In all,three wickets fell in the first hour of play to put the hosts in a spot of bother.

All-rounder Rudra Pratap Singh and Praveen Kumar used the long handle to ensure that the pressure was released and their team bagged three vital points.

Punjab medium pacer Navdeep Sidhu took three wickets in the morning to give the host jitters. However,Punjab were on the backfoot soon when RP Singh and Praveen,realising that being defensive would simply play into the hands of the opponents,whacked the ball around. Soon relief set in the Uttar Pradesh dressing room as they nosed ahead of Punjabs first innings effort.

Uttar Pradesh finished at 362 and put the visitors under pressure. Punjab got off to a horrid start when they lost both their openers within the third over of the innings. Yuvraj Singh made a brisk 24,which contained five hits to the fence but his stay at the wicket was brief. No.3 batsman Karan Goel,who was promoted up the order,fell for just 10 and it left Punjab in a spot of bother at 59 for four.

Yuvraj had raised hopes of a big score by hitting Praveen Kumar for three fours in an over. But Bhuvneshwar Kumar got the better of him shortly. It fell upon Uday Kaul and Pankaj Dharmani to resurrect the Punjab innings.

This duo cut down on the flair and played doggedly to remain unbeaten on 47 and 34 respectively. Punjab finished the day at 127 for four. Both these batsmen played a risk-free game. It made for rather unexciting viewing but their runs on the third day was more valuable than its sum totals.

Brief scores: Uttar Pradesh: 362 vs Punjab: 288 and 127 for four in 46 overs (Uday Kaul 47 batting,Pankaj Dharmani 34 batting,Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2/20).