Kanpur: Rituraj Sharma’s valiant unbeaten knock of 63 runs steered Uttar Pradesh to a five-wicket victory over Chandigarh in the U-23 Col CK Nayudu Trophy pool league match at Green Park here on Sunday. UP finished the match on the third day and remain in the hunt for knockout qualification. After taking a commanding first-innings lead of 90 runs, UP bundled out Chandigarh for 185 in their second innings, setting themselves a modest target of 96 runs. What appeared to be an easy chase, however, turned tense as Chandigarh’s bowlers struck early blows to leave UP struggling at 55 for five. Left-arm orthodox spinner Nishunk Birla, who earlier claimed nine wickets in UP’s first innings, continued his fine form by dismissing openers Adarsh Singh (8) and Kavya Teotia (5). Jaskirat Singh then sent back Siddharth Chaudhary (0) and Ali Zafir Mohsin (1), while Ivraj Ranauta removed Arjun Kumar Singh (9). Under pressure, Rituraj Sharma stood firm at one end after walking in following the fall of Siddharth Chaudhary. He found able support from Kaartikaya Singh, and the duo calmly added the remaining 44 runs required for victory. Kaartikaya sealed the win with a boundary off Arnav Bansal. Rituraj remained unbeaten on 63 off 95 balls, striking seven boundaries and two sixes, while Kaartikaya Singh finished not out on 12 from 61 deliveries. Earlier, Chandigarh resumed their second innings at the overnight score of 78 for three and added 107 runs before losing their remaining seven wickets. Overnight batsmen Ivraj Ranauta and Aarush Bhandari stitched together a crucial 48-run partnership for the fourth wicket in 110 balls on a turning track, the best stand of the innings. Chandigarh soon slumped to 140 for nine, but the last-wicket pair of Jaskirat Singh and Aryun Duggal offered resistance with a 45-run partnership. Shubham Mishra broke the stand by dismissing Duggal for 13, while Jaskirat remained unbeaten on 30, including six boundaries. For UP, Shubham Mishra and Vijay Kumar claimed four wickets each, while Akshu Bajwa picked up two. Despite Chandigarh’s defeat, the match proved memorable for Nishunk Birla, who finished with a remarkable haul of 11 wickets in the match, including nine in the first innings. UP coach Gyanendra Pandey expressed satisfaction over the team’s performance. Speaking about qualification prospects, he said UP had accumulated 52 points, though the final position would be clear after the remaining teams completed their last matches. Brief scores: Chandigarh 1st innings: 175 and 2nd innings: 185 (Dushyant 45, Ivraj Ranauta 25, Aarush Bhandari 20, Devang Kasushik 19, Jaskirat Singh 30; Vijay Kumar 4/44, Akshu Bajwa 2/48, Shubham Mishra 4/56) UP 1st innings: 260 and 2nd innings: 5/99 (Rituraj Sharma 63; Nishunk Birla 2/46, Jaskirat Singh 2/32).
