Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Gill’s ton in vain as Karnataka thrashes Punjab by an innings and 207 runs in three days
Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Gill’s ton in vain as Karnataka thrashes Punjab by an innings and 207 runs in three days
For the sparse but enthusiastic crowd that had assembled at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on a chilly Saturday morning, it was the best possible outcome.
To their delight, Karnataka thrashed Punjab by an innings and 207 runs in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group-C encounter. And Punjab skipper Shubman Gill, a favourite of the Indian masses, scored a fine hundred (102, 171b, 14×4, 3×6) to roar back to form after a difficult two months.
For the respective teams, however, it may not amount to much. The victory with a bonus point pushed Karnataka’s tally up to 19 – with a match against table-topping Haryana remaining – but its progress will depend on results elsewhere. Punjab, on the other hand, is out of the competition (11 points, six matches).
In fact, the writing was on the wall for Punjab ever since it was bundled out for 55 on the opening morning. Saturday, if anything, was a test of its fighting spirit. And save for Gill, all others failed.
From an overnight 24 for two – a massive 396-run adrift – Punjab was bundled out for 213. Gill and Jassinder Singh negotiated the first hour well before Yashovardhan Parantap, in his second First Class outing, sliced open the contest.
The 21-year-old pacer trapped Jassinder in front, caught Ramandeep Singh off his own bowling after the batter top-edged a pull and rearranged Sanvir Singh’s stumps. A diving Devdutt Padikkal caught Pukhraj Mann at first slip off V. Koushik to make it 84 for six.
As he ran out of partners, Gill turned expansive. He creamed left-arm pacer Abhilash Shetty through cover and hoisted him down the ground for two sixes. The patented half-pull, half-steer to the mid-wicket boundary also made an appearance.
When on 57, K.V. Aneesh grassed a chance at gully and Gill capitalised. He moved into the nineties by hitting speedster Prasidh Krishna for a majestic maximum over long-off. A delicate punch to the backward point fence off Koushik took him to 96 before a hard-run double brought the century.
Gill’s downfall came when he tried to paddle sweep leggie Shreyas Gopal and was adjudged leg-before. He tossed his bat up in frustration, for he thought he had nicked the ball. But even if he had survived, it would have been largely academic.
