Irani Cup 2017: Pankaj Singh-Siddharth Kaul Tumbles Gujarat, Chirag Gandhi Comes To Rescue

Irani Cup 2017: Pankaj Singh-Siddharth Kaul Tumble Gujarat, Chirag Gandhi Comes To Rescue

Rest of India team could have run away with the honours on the day 1 of the Irani Cup but the Gujarat batsman, Chirag Gandhi, saved the best one for the last, to keep Gujarat afloat in the game. His innings of 136* did not just help Gujarat to reach to a good total but also kept Rest of India bowlers at bay, who gained an early advantage at the start of the day.

The day started with the Gujarat skipper Parthiv Patel winning the toss and asking his team to bat first. They had a poor start as they lost the wicket of Samit Gohel on the last ball of the first over when Pankaj Singh trapped him in front of the stumps.

Priyank Panchal and Dhruv Raval though tried to steer the team ahead but Pankaj Singh soon dismissed Panchal as well, which left Gujarat two down with a score of 55 on the board. Another small partnership between Parthiv Patel and Dhruv Raval gave Gujarat hopes but Patel’s stay at the crease was not for long as Siddharth Kaul came up with a double blow of Parthiv Patel and Dhruv Raval to flatten Gujarat.

It was a crucial time for the Ranji Trophy Champions as another wicket could have just led to a downfall but Manprit Juneja and Chirag Gandhi shared a partnership of 109 runs for the fifth wicket to help Gujarat get back on the track.

Juneja was dismissed after a score of 47 in his account and again came the moment when Gujarat start losing regular wickets after small partnerships with the last wicket coming in form of Chintan Gaja at a score of 261/8.

It can be said that it was Rest of India dominated the opening and closing sessions of the day with Gujarat keeping themselves in the race, riding on small partnerships and the brilliant efforts from Chirag Gandhi.

Brief Scores: Gujarat 300/8 (Chirag Gandhi 136*, Manprit Juneja 47; Siddharth Kaul 73-4, Pankaj Singh 7-3) vs Rest of India in Mumbai.
