Himachal draws match against Bengal with big innings of Chopra and Kalsi
Prashant Chopra (109) and Ankit Kalsi (82) stitched a 146-run partnership for the second wicket as Himachal posted 384 for four in their second innings Ranji Trophy Group A match here on Friday. stopped from In reply to Bengal’s 310 in the first innings, Himachal was bundled out for 130 in the first innings. Bengal then declared their second innings at 291 for five, leaving Himachal a target of 472 to win. Himachal started the day at 79 for one wicket. The pair of Chopra and Kalsi thereafter did not give much chances to the Bengal bowlers in the opening session of the day.
Even after Kalsi was dismissed in the 50th over of the innings, Chopra held one end. Captain Rishi Dhawan (31) and Amit Kumar (38 runs retired heart) and Akash Vashisht (28 not out) made good contributions for the team. In the second match of the group played in Dehradun, Uttarakhand defeated Odisha by an innings and 99 runs. Even after Anurag Sarangi’s 93, Odisha’s second innings was reduced to just 165 runs. Odia scored 213 runs in the first innings while Uttarakhand scored 477 runs. In the other group match played at Vadodara, Haryana managed to draw the match even after following on against Baroda. The team scored 404 runs for nine wickets in the second innings on the basis of half-centuries of Yuvraj Singh (94), Ankit Kumar (55), Shivam Chauhan (60) and Jayant Yadav (61).
