New Delhi, October 18, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Uday Saharan struck an unbeaten century to steady Punjab after Shubman Gill’s return to the Ranji Trophy ended after just five balls, while Rinku Singh, Priyansh Arya and Ayush Badoni also scored hundreds on the opening day of the second round on Sunday.
In the Elite Group B match at the new PCA Stadium in New Chandigarh, Punjab reached 269/4 against Chhattisgarh, with skipper Saharan unbeaten on 106 off 168 balls, including 13 fours. He shared a 130-run fourth-wicket partnership with Prabhsimran Singh, who scored 62 off 133 deliveries.
Gill, playing his first Ranji match of the season before India’s tour of New Zealand, came in at No. 4 but was bowled for one by left-arm spinner Ajay Mandal, who drew the batter forward and beat him through the gate.
Earlier, openers Vihaan Malhotra (40 off 77 balls) and Harnoor Pannu had provided a steady start before both were dismissed leg-before by Chhattisgarh’s left-arm spinners Dharmendrasinh Jadeja and Mandal. Saharan counterattacked with sweeps and slog sweeps against the spin pair to rebuild the innings.
Prabhsimran was trapped leg-before by Jadeja before the tea break, but Saharan continued to anchor the innings and completed his third first-class century. Wicketkeeper-batter Salil Arora remained unbeaten on 38 as Punjab added 71 runs in the final session without losing another wicket.
In Kanpur, Rinku scored an unbeaten 118 off 186 balls, with 11 fours and two sixes, to lift Uttar Pradesh from 137/9 to 202 against Goa. Goa reached 43 without loss in 12 overs at stumps.
Delhi were also well placed against Gujarat, reaching 381/4. Arya, playing his first match of the season, fell one run short of a maiden double century in first-class cricket, while captain Badoni remained unbeaten on 115.
Elsewhere, Baroda bowled out Bihar for 166, with Raj Limbani claiming four wickets, before reaching 77/3. Defending champions Jammu and Kashmir were dismissed for 260 against Vidarbha, with debutant Kawalpreet Singh scoring 96. Madhya Pradesh bowled out Puducherry for 177 and finished the day at 23/2.
In Elite Group B, Karnataka reached 281/8 against Saurashtra after a lower-order fightback led by Manvanth Kumar, while Assam made 228/6 against Tripura. Andhra bowled out Hyderabad for 275 and were 9 without loss at stumps.
In Elite Group C, Services dismissed Bengal for 184 before reducing the hosts to 83/5. Sachin Baby’s unbeaten 112 helped Kerala reach 245/6 against Odisha, while Maharashtra dismissed Jharkhand for 169 and ended the day at 85/3.
In Elite Group D, Mumbai bowled out Himachal Pradesh for 140 and reached 107/2, trailing by 33 runs. Tamil Nadu dismissed Uttarakhand for 134, with Gurjapneet Singh taking 4/34 and captain R Sai Kishore claiming 4/40. Tamil Nadu were 85/2 at stumps, 49 runs behind.
Sachin Yadav’s century took Rajasthan to 247/2 against Railways. Haryana bowled out Chandigarh for 103 and reached 139/4 to take the lead. In the Plate group, Meghalaya made 325/6 against Manipur, Mizoram reached 331/5 against Nagaland, and Sikkim were 147/1 in reply to Arunachal Pradesh’s 121.
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