Punjab beat Chhattisgarh by seven wickets in the Ranji Trophy at New Chandigarh after enforcing the follow-on. Uday Saharan’s 161 and Harpreet Brar’s 7 for 56 shaped the win, while India captain Shubman Gill, on his Ranji return, was bowled for 1.
New Chandigarh, India: Punjab won the toss, batted first and spent the next four days turning a shaky start into a comfortable finish. The headline of the opening morning belonged to a man who barely lasted it, but by Wednesday the match belonged to Uday Saharan and Harpreet Brar.
Gill falls, Saharan stays
Shubman Gill, India’s Test and ODI captain, was making his Ranji Trophy return ahead of the Test series in New Zealand. He faced five balls, scored one run and was bowled through the gate by Ajay Mandal with Punjab 68 for 3. Saharan, the Punjab captain, took over. He made 161, Salil Arora added 107, and Punjab were bowled out for 456 in 152.5 overs. Dharmendrasinh Jadeja took 7 for 173 for Chhattisgarh.
Brar takes seven
Harpreet Brar then ripped through the visitors, taking 7 for 56 as Chhattisgarh were bowled out for 206 in 64.5 overs. Amandeep Khare made 91 and Vikalp Tiwari 47, but Punjab had a lead of 250 and enforced the follow-on.
Pandey and Khare resist
Chhattisgarh were 123 for 3 at the end of the third day, still trailing. On the final day Ayush Pandey made 111 and Khare added 62, and the pair stretched the second innings to 335 in 116.2 overs. Harjas Tandon took 3 for 92 and Emanjot Chahal also took three wickets, but the resistance only cost Punjab a few more overs in the field. It left them a target of 86.
Quick finish
Punjab needed 16.5 overs to get there. Saharan finished with 40, to go with his first-innings 161, and Mandal took 2 for 40 as the hosts lost three wickets on the way to 86 for 3.
A first outright win
The seven-wicket win is Punjab’s first outright result of the season, and the six points that come with it take their tally to nine from two matches. Elsewhere in the same group, Hyderabad beat Andhra by 267 runs. For Gill, the match was a short reminder of how little time he has to find rhythm before India’s tour of New Zealand, where he captains the Test side and leads the first three ODIs.
Result: Punjab 456 (Uday Saharan 161, Salil Arora 107; Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 7/173) and 86/3 (Uday Saharan 40) beat Chhattisgarh 206 (Amandeep Khare 91; Harpreet Brar 7/56) and 335 (Ayush Pandey 111, Amandeep Khare 62; Harjas Tandon 3/92) by seven wickets. Ranji Trophy Elite Group B, PCA International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh, 18-21 October 2026.
