CRICKET / Andhra shot out for 80; Punjab struggles to 128 for seven

Seventeen wickets fell for just over 200 runs as batsmen from either side threw away their wickets on the opening day of the Group B Ranji Trophy match between Punjab and Andhra at the Dhruve Pandove Stadium here on Friday.
Electing to bat, Andhra was wrapped up for 80 in three hours. Punjab struggled too, losing seven wickets for 128 runs before bad light forced play to be called off early. The difference between the two teams was Punjab opener Jiwanjot Singh, who was the last wicket to fall after a crucial 59-run knock.
Not a minefield
On a pitch that both teams admitted was hardly a minefield, Jiwanjot was the only one who applied himself. For Andhra, vice-captain D.B. Prasanth Kumar top-scored with 33 before being given out, caught by Uday Kaul at short leg, off a delivery that he insisted came off his pad.
The pitch was supposed to assist turn from the second day onwards but the spinners came into playmuch earlier.
Rajwinder Singh Golu was brought on by Punjab captain Gurkeerat Singh as early as the fourth over and he provided the breakthrough, dismissing K.S. Bharat for nine in the eighth over. Seamer Siddarth Kaul wrecked the top-order, sending back both M.U.B. Sriram and captain Mohd Kaif for ducks.
Gurkeerat himself had a field day with the ball. Returning to the side as captain in the absence of Yuvraj Singh, he polished off the tail for his four wickets including that of Prasanth, who said later that defence was the only requirement needed to survive.
“None of the wickets that fell was earned or because of the pitch; the batsmen erred and paid for it,” he shrugged.
It looked like it would be a cakewalk for the host, specially the way Jiwanjot and Uday Kaul went about building the Punjab innings with a 68-run second-wicket partnership.
That was when Prasanth struck, trapping Siddarth leg-before for 27.
The next over, Prasanth flung himself from mid-on for a direct throw to the stumps that caught Mandeep Singh short of crease. The procession had started and the Andhra spinners Prasanth and G. Shankar Rao tightened the screws. Jiwanjot tried to hold up one end and keep the scoreboard ticking, reaching his half-century with a sedate single, but was finally cleaned up by Prasanth.
THE SCORES:
ANDHRA — 1ST INNINGS: K.S. Bharat c Gurkeerat b Rajwinder 9, D.B. Prasanth Kumar c Uday b Gurkeerat 33, M.U.B. Sriram b Siddarth 0, Mohd. Kaif c Himanshu b Siddarth 0, A.G. Pradeep lbw b Sarbjeet 12, B. Sumanth b Gurkeerat 0, G. Shankar Rao lbw b Sarbjeet 4, K.V. Sasikanth b Rajwinder 4, B. Ayyappa c Jiwanjot b Gurkeerat 4, H. Shivraj b Gurkeerat 0, G. Chiranjeevi (not out) 12; Extras (nb-1, lb-1): 2; Total (in 45 overs): 80.
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-19, 2-20, 3-22, 4-46, 5-60, 6-60, 7-60, 8-75, 9-80.
PUNJAB BOWLING: Siddarth Kaul 7-0-11-2, Mandeep Singh 1-0-6-0, Rajwinder Singh Golu 10-4-12-2, Varun Khanna 5-1-11-0, Sarbjeet Ladda 11-3-25-2, Gurkeerat Singh 11-5-14-4.
PUNJAB — 1ST INNINGS: Manan Vohra b Bandaru 5, Jiwanjot Singh b Prasanth 59, Uday Kaul lbw b Prasanth 27, Mandeep Singh run out 0, Gurkeerat Singh b Prasanth 8, Gitansh Khera c Sumanth b Shankar Rao 4, Himanshu Chawla b Shankar Rao 6, Siddarth Kaul (batting) 7, Varun Khanna (batting) 0; Extras (b-8, nb-4): 12; Total (for seven wickets in 42 overs): 128.
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-15, 2-73, 3-75, 4-89, 5-94, 6-106, 7-119.

ANDHRA BOWLING: B. Ayyappa 10-2-22-1, K.V. Sasikanth 2-0-7-0, G. Shankar Rao 13-6-27-2, H. Shivraj 6-0-28-0, D.B. Prasanth Kumar 11-0-36-3.