da dobrowin： The obduracy of Rajiv Nayyar and resourcefulness of Amit Sharma sawHimachal Pradesh take firm command over their Ranji Trophy North Zonetie against Services at the Palam ground in Delhi on Tuesday
07-Nov-2000The obduracy of Rajiv Nayyar and resourcefulness of Amit Sharma sawHimachal Pradesh take firm command over their Ranji Trophy North Zonetie against Services at the Palam ground in Delhi on Tuesday. Aftergathering a first innings lead of 183, HP pulled back one wicket inthe Services second knock which terminated at 80/1.Carrying off from the overnight 224/2, both Nayyar and Sharma dulycompleted three figures. The partnership had swelled to 207 whenSharma was stumped by wicket keeper Harish Bhaskar off his namesakeArun Sharma for a well deserved 120 (213 balls, 16 fours). Fourteenruns and 15 balls later, his erstwhile partner, Nayyar also desertedthe crease, thrown out by Amit Nadkarni. The skipper had raised apersonal tally of 121 (334 balls, 15 fours).Two more wickets fell in quick succession, plunging Himachal Pradeshto 351/6 before Virender Singh smote an enterprising unbeaten 52 andmarshalled the tail to good effect. The visitors reached 459/8 from139 overs before closing shop. Left arm chinaman bowler Arun Sharmadid the bulk of the wicket taking (3/119) in an innings that featuredthree runouts.New ball bowler Shakti Singh drew first blood when Services tookstrike for the second time, trapping opener Narender Singh leg beforein the ninth over. Harish Bhaskar (29) and Amit Nadkarni (42) stalledHimachal’s march with a defiant little stand before stumps werecalled.