Ranji Trophy: Punjab, Himachal play out draw on final day

Punjab and Himachal Pradesh played a draw on the fourth and final day of the Ranji Trophy cricket tournament here on Monday.

In Group D, Himachal Pradesh bagged three points because of their first innings lead while Punjab was given one point.

At stumps on day three, Punjab scored 484/6, trailing by 245 runs at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala. On the final day, Himachal declared their innings for 729/8. But their bowlers failed to put up a good show and only managed to scalp six wickets which resulted in a draw.

The match between Jammu and Kashmir and Rajasthan also ended in a draw, after Rajasthan's batsmen applied themselves on the fourth and final day.

J&K added four runs to their overnight score and declared for 436 for 8. After that, Rajesh Bishnoi and Mahipal Lomror safely saw out the day for Rajasthan with an unbroken 177-run partnership. Bishnoi (101) scored his third first-class hundred, while Lomror played a steady 65 not out.

In Group D, Goa and Chhattisgarh, Bengal and Services also played a dull draw. But because of the first innings lead against Services, Bengal got three points while Services had to settle with one.

The group A match between Delhi and Assam here was also a draw. Delhi were 49/2 in the second innings when the umpires decided to end the match.

It was a different result in the Group c match between Baroda and Madhya Pradesh as the latter defeated Baroda by eight wickets on the final day of the match in Indore.

--IANS

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