Ranji Trophy: Gill, Prabhsimran boost for Punjab against Chhattisgarh

Punjab’s batting reinforcements will be the headline acts as it hopes to secure a victory against Chhattisgarh in the second round of the Ranji Trophy, starting Sunday, at the New PCA Stadium here.

India captain Shubman Gill was the lone Test regular to opt out of the opening round but returns for the second fixture, hoping to hit his strides before departing for New Zealand. Prabhsimran Singh is through with his India-A assignments and adds to Punjab’s batting riches.

Gill must be surfing the high of scoring the fastest double century in ODIs, but will have his task cut on his Ranji return. He managed 0 & 14 the last time he turned up for the State, and averages 30 since BCCI mandated Test regulars to feature in domestic First Class games.

Cherished as their presence might be, Punjab’s batting will hardly be at the mercy of their runs.

A young batting core rose to the occasion against Assam with Vihaan Malhotra, Emanjot Singh Chahal, and Salil Arora all slamming centuries and securing a first-innings lead.

The concerns over Punjab’s hastily put together bowling were dispelled by its late attempt to snatch a victory, where it claimed six wickets in two sessions on a flat track.

Punjab will recognise the chance to assert itself on Chhattisgarh, which could gather just one point from its opening game against Saurashtra.

It was a top-order misfire that prevented Chhattisgarh from overhauling a first-innings total of 392. Captain Anuj Tiwary and the middle-order put up a fight, but Chhattisgarh will have more to show for if Amandeep Khare and Ayush Pandey, who recently returned from an India-A outing, stand for longer.

Its new imports Sandeep Warrier and Dharmendra Jadeja are yet to live up to their billing, although the latter did grant cricket fans a keepsake by nabbing his namesake and former teammate, Ravindra Jadeja, in the last match.