Punjab U-19s overhaul 524-run target, complete 2nd highest run-chase in cricket history

Punjab Under-19s created history on Tuesday as they chased a mammoth total of 522 that was set by Uttar Pradesh (UP) in their Cooch Behar Trophy 2019 match in Amritsar. Punjab wicketkeeper-batsman Salil Arora led the chase as he kept his cool and scored an unbeaten 200. Punjab's chase of 524-8 is now the second-highest successful run-chase in the history of first-class cricket around the world, only being behind Duleep Trophy's West Zone side that chased down 537 runs in the 2009-10 season courtesy Yusuf Pathan's 210. Have a look at the Round 5 fixture from the Cooch Behar Trophy 2019.

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Punjab hold their nerve for an outstanding run-chase

After UP captain Sameer Rizvi won the toss and opted to bat, they put up a decent 235 with Kritagya Kumar Singh top-scoring for them. Singh put 88 on the board with a fast strike-rate of 103.52. Punjab could not equal UP in their first innings and got cleaned up for a paltry 171. UP's Purnank Tyagi and Suryakant Chauhan took 3 wickets each. In UP's second innings, captain Sameer Rizvi led from the front and made 330 runs on his own, propelling Uttar Pradesh's lead to 521.

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Punjab now needed to chase 522 and all odds were against them. To add to Punjab's misery, openers Pukhraj Mann and Anshul Chaudhary got dismissed cheaply. Jaskaran Singh stabilised the innings as he came in at three and made 110. Following him, Nehal Wadhera made 50 and the final effort came from wicketkeeper Salil Arora who scored an unbeaten 200 and led Punjab to victory. Punjab's narrow victory was quite remarkable keeping in mind how the entire team fell around Arora. At the time of winning the match, Punjab were two wickets away from defeat.

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Punjab U-19 coach lauds historic win

Punjab Colts coach Harjinder Singh expressed his amazement at the team pulling off such a steep run-chase in an interview with a leading Indian media daily. In his two decades of coaching, he had never witnessed something of this sort. Singh credited Salil Arora for keeping his calm and managing his innings well even though wickets kept falling at the other end. Punjab will now face Saurashtra on December 25 at Rajkot.

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