Pune: After getting bowled out for 210 on day one,
Maharashtra needed early wickets in their Group B Ranji Trophy match
against Punjab to get back into the contest on Monday, and when Amitoze
Singh and Mandeep Singh were sent back in quick succession, it looked
like the hosts were on the right track. The Maharashtra camp was pleased
with their efforts and at that time it appeared that instead of eleven
players, there were eleven noisy birds fielding. By stumps, their
enthusiasm and liveliness had completely gone, and the man who brought
about this was Yuvraj Singh, who batted through a throat infection and
fever during his 160-ball 136 to help Punjab end day two on 370/8 with a
big lead of 160 runs.
At 53/3, Yuvraj joined overnight batsman Jiwanjot Singh and both began the repair work. Samad Fallah unleashed a few bouncers to rattle the left-handed batsman but it didn't work. Yuvraj, who normally doesn't take things lying down, stayed out of the path of those deliveries. His intention was clear; he wanted to score big. Once the ball lost its hardness, he sloughed off his cautious approach and there was one elegant drive after another on display. He was particularly severe on Shrikant Mundhe, who was regularly driven into the cover region for fours.
Jiwanjot, Punjab's highest scorer for the last two seasons, batted with great patience and greatly endeavoured to keep Yuvraj on strike. By the time he fell lbw to Anupam Sanklecha for 68 off 135 balls, the 112-run stand for the fourth wicket had ameliorated the situation a great deal for the tourists.
If Maharashtra thought they had found the opening they needed, they were proven wrong by Gurkeerat Singh who went for shots very early in his innings. Another 112-run partnership followed and that put Punjab in firm control. Gurkeerat was looking good for a three-figure mark when Mundhe had him caught by Kedar Jadhav for 57 off 69 balls.
Yuvraj eventually fell to spinner Akshay Darekar, whom he had hit for a six over long-off earlier in the day. Twenty-five fours and one six speak a great deal about the kind of dominance he had over the opposition bowlers. It was, to all intents and purposes, a clean innings. The 100-odd spectators gave him a standing ovation when Darekar lured him to drive one delivery straight into the hands of Vijay Zol in the covers. Yuvraj may not be on the Indian selectors' radar anymore as suggested by his absence from the list of the 2015 World Cup probables but this innings of his is unlikely to go unnoticed by chairman of selectors Sandeep Patil who watched Yuvraj bat with character from the sidelines.
As to Maharashtra, their problems were further aggravated by the batting of Harbhajan Singh (31) and Gitansh Khera (37*) late in the day, and now they face an uphill task to avoid defeat. Now the only thing left for them to fight for is one point but looking at Punjab's bowling resources even that seems an improbable task.
Brief scores: Punjab 370/8 at stumps on day two (Yuvraj 136, Jiwanjot 68, Gurkeerat 57; Sanklecha 3/75) lead Maharashtra (210) by 160 runs
At 53/3, Yuvraj joined overnight batsman Jiwanjot Singh and both began the repair work. Samad Fallah unleashed a few bouncers to rattle the left-handed batsman but it didn't work. Yuvraj, who normally doesn't take things lying down, stayed out of the path of those deliveries. His intention was clear; he wanted to score big. Once the ball lost its hardness, he sloughed off his cautious approach and there was one elegant drive after another on display. He was particularly severe on Shrikant Mundhe, who was regularly driven into the cover region for fours.
Jiwanjot, Punjab's highest scorer for the last two seasons, batted with great patience and greatly endeavoured to keep Yuvraj on strike. By the time he fell lbw to Anupam Sanklecha for 68 off 135 balls, the 112-run stand for the fourth wicket had ameliorated the situation a great deal for the tourists.
If Maharashtra thought they had found the opening they needed, they were proven wrong by Gurkeerat Singh who went for shots very early in his innings. Another 112-run partnership followed and that put Punjab in firm control. Gurkeerat was looking good for a three-figure mark when Mundhe had him caught by Kedar Jadhav for 57 off 69 balls.
Yuvraj eventually fell to spinner Akshay Darekar, whom he had hit for a six over long-off earlier in the day. Twenty-five fours and one six speak a great deal about the kind of dominance he had over the opposition bowlers. It was, to all intents and purposes, a clean innings. The 100-odd spectators gave him a standing ovation when Darekar lured him to drive one delivery straight into the hands of Vijay Zol in the covers. Yuvraj may not be on the Indian selectors' radar anymore as suggested by his absence from the list of the 2015 World Cup probables but this innings of his is unlikely to go unnoticed by chairman of selectors Sandeep Patil who watched Yuvraj bat with character from the sidelines.
As to Maharashtra, their problems were further aggravated by the batting of Harbhajan Singh (31) and Gitansh Khera (37*) late in the day, and now they face an uphill task to avoid defeat. Now the only thing left for them to fight for is one point but looking at Punjab's bowling resources even that seems an improbable task.
Brief scores: Punjab 370/8 at stumps on day two (Yuvraj 136, Jiwanjot 68, Gurkeerat 57; Sanklecha 3/75) lead Maharashtra (210) by 160 runs
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