Saurashtra make 274/5 against Punjab in semi-final

Rajkot: Skipper Jaydev Shah led Saurashtra`s impressive batting effort with a fluent 87 before Sheldon Jackson posted an unbeaten half-century to propel the hosts to 274 for five on the first day of their Ranji Trophy semi-final against Punjab.

Opting to bat after winning the toss, the hosts did not have a good start as they lost Sagar Jogiyani (5) early to Siddharth Kaul. Kaul, who looked impressive with both the new and old ball, struck twice in the morning, removing Jogiyani and Rahul Dave (16). However, the experienced Sitanshu Kotak and Shah steadied the inning by adding 92 runs for the third wicket. When it looked like both would have settled down, they threw away their wickets. Kotak, while trying to cut Harbhajan Singh, failed to judge the bounce and gave a simple catch to Mandeep Singh at first sleep. He made 54 with nine fours. While Shah failed to clear his lofted shot off Bipul Sharma and was caught by Sandip Sharma at long on. Shah made 87. The in-form Arpit Vasavada did not last long and was adhudged leg before off Kaul. Jackson and Makwana then added 45 runs for the unbroken sixth-wicket partnership. Jackson was lucky when he was on 70 as Harbhajan took a fine catch at first slip off Kaul, but the third umpire called it a no ball. For Punjab, Kaul was the most successful bowler, taking two wickets for 64 runs, while left-arm spinner Sharma and Harbhajan took a wicket each, conceding 10 and 59 runs, respectively. Brief Scores: Saurashtra 274 for 5 in 87 overs (Jaydev Shah 87, Sheldon Jackson batting 70, Sitanshu Kotak 54; Siddharth Kaul 2-64, Bipul Sharma 1-10, Taruvar Kohli 1-15, Harbhajan Singh 1-59 against Punjab. PTI