Kohli, Sharma put Gujarat on back foot

An unbeaten century by Taruwar Kohli and 95 by Rahul Sharma gave Punjab the upper hand in the Ranji Trophy Super League encounter against Gujarat at Mohali, on Wednesday. The home team, led by Pankaj Dharmani, was 361 for five - a lead of 201 runs — when stumps were drawn on the second day of the match.

In the morning session, pacer Siddharth Trivedi gave Gujarat some hope when he broke Uday Kaul's (24) furniture in the first hour of play. But captain Parthiv Patel's hopes came crashing down as Sharma and Kohli faced no major threat from the visitors' weak bowling attack.

Though lively on Day One, the Mohali wicket became a bit slower on the second day, helping the home side. Kohli and Sharma gathered runs on both sides of the wicket as their fourth-wicket partnership generated 148 runs. Sharma missed a well-deserved century when he fell to Mehul Patel for 95 (179b; 15x4, 1x6).

Dharmani (38) and Sunny Sohal (33*) then gave Kohli good company as he remained unbeaten on 100 (258b; 7x4) at the end of the second day's play.

"I guess the bowlers were overexcited by the green top, and that cost us," Gujarat head coach Vijay Patel said, referring to the eight wides bowled by Mehul Patel. He also observed that if the batsmen stick to the basics, they will not have any problems.

Brief scores: Gujarat: 1st innings: 160 Punjab: 1st innings: 361/5 (T Kohli 100*, R Sharma 95; S Yadav 2/96)