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. Punjab will recognise the chance to assert itself on Chhattisgarh, which could gather just one point from its opening game against Saurashtra.
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. It was a top-order misfire that prevented Chhattisgarh from overhauling a first-innings total of 392.