Internet Desk: Out-of-favour India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh slammed an unbeaten 179 and opener Manan Vohra remained not out on 201, as Punjab made a strong reply to post 452 for two in their Group A Ranji Trophy match against Baroda on Saturday.
Baroda were all out for 529 in their first innings at the Feroz Shah Kotla.
Vohra scored his runs off 355 balls with the help of 17 boundaries and two sixes.
Skipper Yuvraj faced 253 balls and found the fence 23 times during his knock.
The Yuvraj-Vohra duo shared an unbroken partnership of 314 runs for the third wicket to help Punjab close in on Baroda’s huge total.
The left-right combo scored runs at almost fours runs per over after joining forces at 138 for two in the innings’ 41st over.
Punjab were overnight 121/1 with Vohra and Uday Kaul batting on 67 and 33 respectively.
At the close of play on the third and final day, Punjab trailed Baroda by 77 runs with eight wickets remaining in the 1st innings.
On the final day tomorrow, Punjab would look to take the first innings lead and collect three points from the game.
In another match Tamil Nadu reduced Madhya Pradesh to 261 for seven in their first innings despite a 160-run partnership on the third and penultimate day of their Group A Ranji Trophy match on Saturday.
In reply to Tamil Nadu’s 555 for seven declared in their first essay, Madhya Pradesh was struggling at the close of third day’s play, needing 145 more to avoid the follow-on.
Resuming the day on 547 for seven, Tamil Nadu batted for just two overs and added eight runs before declaring the innings.
Tamil Nadu bowlers then wreaked havoc to reduce Madhya Pradesh to 82 for four before captain Devendra Bundela (93) and Saurabh Sharma (85) steadied the boat and took the team to 242 for four. The two put on a solid 160-run stand together for the fifth wicket.
However, a late burst from offspinner Washington Sundar (2/20) to remove Bundela and Saurabh left Madhya Pradesh once again reeling at 249 for six.
They were two of the three wickets to fall in the last 15 overs of the day, which fetched only 19 runs.
Madhya Pradesh’s misery was compounded further with Ankit Dane’s (6) getting run-out off the last ball of the day.
Brief scores:
Baroda 529 all out.
Punjab 452/2(Manan Vohra 201*, Yuvraj Singh 179*)
Tamil Nadu 1st innings: 555 for seven decl.
Madhya Pradesh 1st innings: 261 for seven in 88.1 overs (Devendra Bundela 93, Saurabh Sharma 85; Washington Sundar 2/20).