Punjab went all in for an outright win but had to settle for three points on the final day of its Ranji Trophy round-one match against Assam at the New PCA Stadium here on Wednesday.

Overnight batters Emanjot Singh Chahal (114 n.o., 137b, 10×4, 4×6) and Salil Arora (110, 152b, 10×4, 3×6) needed less than a session to restore parity and take a first-innings lead.

The charge was in full throttle from the fourth over of the day, when Salil hopped out to Mohit Thakur and drilled him through covers. Salil reserved his best for pacer Dipjyoti Saikia, creaming two drives through covers and mid-off.

Mohit was targeted again by the pair. Salil lofted him inside-out for a boundary and with a late-cut Emanjot got Punjab level with Assam at 373 runs.

Their onslaught on the cusp of lunch ensured Punjab’s haul from the first session had ballooned to 191 runs. With a lead worth 105 runs, Punjab inserted Assam for a second innings and got a late whiff of a win.

Umesh Yadav added two wickets to his match figures, snaring Nebir Deka at gully and producing a peach to Rajveer Singh that pitched and changed angle to break the castle. Harpreet Brar got a length ball to skid straight and accounted for Rishav Das.

Combining at 36 for three, Denish Das and Sibsankar Roy appeared to have weathered the storm courtesy of their 57-run alliance. But both were caught behind on either side of tea, off Harjas Tandon and Harpreet respectively, giving Punjab a reason to let the match run its due course.

Gurnoor Brar then set an on-sided trap, with three catchers at midwicket, to find a way past Sumit Ghadigaonkar’s deadblocking, trapping him leg-before from around the wicket. Mukhtar could not duck under a Gurnoor bouncer in time and had to retire hurt.

Assam could save its solitary point courtesy of Amlanjyoti Das, who stood in support of Sarupam Purkayashta (18 n.o., 68b, 3×4) for the final 30 minutes and dashed Punjab’s hopes.

The scores: Assam — 1st innings: 373.

Punjab — 1st innings: Vihaan Malhotra lbw b Mukhtar 103, Harnoor Pannu c Ghadigaonkar b Purkayastha 54, Uday Saharan lbw b Purkayastha 30, Jashanpreet Sidhu lbw b Amlanjyoti 22, Ramandeep Singh run out 17, Salil Arora c Deka b Mukhtar 110, Emanjot Chahal (not out) 114, Harjas Tandon (not out) 12; Extras (b-1, lb-7, w-1, nb-7): 16; Total (decl. for six wkts. in 127 overs): 478.

Fall of wickets: 1-137, 2-195, 3-195, 4-226, 5-237, 6-437.

Assam bowling: Mukhtar 34-7-128-2, Dipjyoti 15-2-93-0, Amlanjyoti 29-2-77-1, Purkayastha 20-3-64-2, Mohit 29-2-108-0.

Assam — 2nd innings: Nibir Deka c Harnoor b Umesh 5, Rishav Das b Harpreet 22, Rajveer Singh b Umesh 0, Denish Das c Salil b Harjas 45, Sibsankar Roy c Salil b Harpreet 32, Sumit Ghadigaonkar lbw b Gurnoor 13, Sarupam Purkayastha (not out) 18, Mukhtar Hussain (retd hurt) 4, Amlanjyoti Das (not out) 15; Extras (lb-2, nb-1): 3; Total (for six wkts in 61 overs): 157

Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-16, 3-36, 4-93, 5-106, 6-132.

Punjab bowling: Gurnoor 11-0-38-1, Umesh 9-3-11-2, Harpreet 17-7-44-2, Emanjot 12-3-25-0, Harjas 10-0-34-1, Uday 1-0-1-0, Vihaan 1-0-2-0.

Published – October 14, 2026 06:36 pm IST

Southpaw opener had a fruitful debut last season against Kerala, at the PCA New Cricket Stadium Ground B, Mullanpur in New Chandigarh on October 26, 2025, and should be in the mix again for Punjab in this edition.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR