Ranji Trophy: Puducherry romp to innings victory against Mizoram

CHENNAI: It took a little more than four overs and barely 20 minutes of play on the final day for Puducherry to complete a crushing innings & 238-run victory against Mizoram in their Ranji Trophy Plate division clash in Puducherry on Saturday. Former India medium-pacer Pankaj Singh was the star of the show for Puducherry with a match haul of 11 wickets for 36 runs. Fabid Ahmed, too, chipped in with an unbeaten century and 4/8 in the second innings.
As a result of their resounding victory, the hosts earned a well-deserved seven points (including a bonus point) and moved up to fourth spot in the standings with 11 points from three matches.As far as Puducherry's hopes of making the quarters go, however, they can afford no dip in form given Uttarakhand are going strong at the top with four wins in four matches.
On Saturday, Pankaj (7/21 & 4/15) took the remaining two wickets and completed the formalities as Mizoram folded up for a shambolic score of 45 in the second innings. Not much more could have been expected from Mizoram either, considering they were going into the day at a hopeless 40/8 and needed another 243 runs to even make Puducherry bat again. S Zorinliana (2) and G Lalbiakvela (3) were the two batsmen to be dismissed for Mizoram on Saturday.
Puducherry skipper D Rohit was effusive in his praise for Pankaj after the victory. "Most teams in the Plate group have roped in two quality batsmen as professionals. Having Pankaj in our team gives us a huge advantage. The ground in Puducherry also suits him as it is an open ground where there is a lot of assistance for swing bowlers. It is palpable to see that most teams are afraid of facing up to him. He was swinging the new ball both ways and still has a potent bouncer. With the old ball too, he can extract reverse swing. So he is always in the action," Rohit told TOI.
Brief scores: Mizoram 92 & 45 in 29.3 overs (Pankaj Singh 4/15, Fabid Ahmed 4/8). Puducherry 375/8 declared (Fabid Ahmed 103 not out, M Viknesh 102). Puducherry won by an innings and 238 runs.