Ranji Trophy: Rajasthan thrash Punjab by nine wickets

Jaipur: Fine bowling by skipper Pankaj Singh (4/57) and Aniket Choudhary (4/52) helped Rajasthan thrash Punjab by nine wickets in their Ranji Trophy Group B cricket match at the Sawai Man Singh stadium here on Thursday.

Rajasthan, who had piled up 433 after being put in to bat, bundled out the visitors for 275 in their first innings and then enforced a follow-on.

While following on, Punjab once again faltered and were all out for a mere 247, thereby setting a modest target of 89 for the home team.

Pranay Sharma (33), Vineet Saxena (27 not out) and Robin Bisht (22 not out) took Rajasthan to 93 for one in 25.4 overs and notched up a comfortable victory on the fourth and final day of the match today.

Earlier, resuming at an overnight score of 85 for three in their second essay while following on, Punjab failed to put up any resistance.

Rajasthan bowlers dealt crucial blows at regular intervals and despite Gitansh Khera (42), Siddarth Kaul (36) and India discard Yuvraj Singh (35) putting up some fight, the visitors failed to sustain for long.

Pankaj finished with match figures of seven for 140, while upcoming left arm seamer Aniket Choudhary, who was coming in after an injury, ended with match figures of eight for 109.

Brief scores:

Rajasthan: 433 & 93 for one in 25.4 overs (Pranay Sharma 33, Vineet Saxena 27 not out, Robin Bisht 22 not out).

Punjab: 274 & 247 all out in 81.2 overs (Gitansh Khera 42, Siddarth Kaul 36, Yuvraj Singh 35; Pankaj Singh 4/57, Aniket Choudhary 4/52).

Points: Rajasthan 6, Punjab 0.