Bhut powers Saurashtra into semis

RAJKOT: Parth Bhut’s 111 not out and 51 and a match-haul of 8 for 203 helped Saurashtra stage a stunning come-from-behind win over Punjab by 71 runs and book its place in the semi-final of the Ranji Trophy. Bhut was ably backed by fellow left-arm spinner, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, who picked up eight wickets in the match for 165.

Chasing 252, Punjab was undone by spin on the final day of the quarter-final in Rajkot. While Bhut returned 5 for 89 in 33 overs, Dharmendrasinh picked 3 for 56 in 38.1 overs as Punjab was skittled out for 180 despite taking a 128-run first-innings lead.

In the second innings Saurashtra was once again reduced to 60 for 4 in its second innings, but captain Arpit Vasavada and Chirag Jani added 140 runs for the fifth wicket to take it in the lead.

Punjab’s chase never really took off and it lost wickets at regular intervals with Saurashtra’s three spinners wrapping up the win.

BRIEF SCORES: Saurashtra 303 and 379 (Mankad 88, Vasavada 77, Jani 77, Vinay 7/179) beat Punjab 431 and 180 (Mandeep 45, Mann 42, Bhut 5/89, Dharmendrasinh 3/56)