Ranji: Punjab rout Orissa

Riding on a five-wicket haul by pacer V R V Singh, Punjab defeated Orissa by seven wickets on the final day of the Ranji Trophy Super League Group B match in Mohali on Thursday.

Requiring 175 for victory, Punjab resumed at their overnight score of 117 for 2 and got the remaining runs quickly.

Ravi Inder, who was playing on 47, took his individual score to 74 before falling leg before wicket to Niranjan Behera. His knock was studded with 10 boundaries.

The other overnight batsman skipper Pankaj Dharmani did not bat after injuring his ankle during the warming-up session before the start of play.

Uday Kaul (21) and Ravneet Ricky (3) completed the rest of the formalities to give an easy win to Punjab, who earlier faced the threat of relegation.

Wicket-less in the first innings, it was VRV Singh's haul, which included a hat-trick, that helped to dismiss Orissa for a very low total of 76 in their second innings.

Orissa had scored 323 in their first innings and despite having a lead of 98 runs failed to capitalise on their advantage.

The match also saw 17-year-old Siddharth Kaul make his debut as a bowler.

Brief scores: Orissa 1st innings 323 all out; Punjab 1st innings 225 all out; Orissa 2nd innings 76 all out; Punjab 2nd innings 175/3.