da dobrowin： A patient unbeaten 85 by opener Nischal Gaur helped Himachal Pradeshfinish the first day of their North Zone Ranji Trophy clash againstJammu & Kashmir on 222/5 from 90 overs
Sankhya Krishnan23-Nov-2000A patient unbeaten 85 by opener Nischal Gaur helped Himachal Pradeshfinish the first day of their North Zone Ranji Trophy clash againstJammu & Kashmir on 222/5 from 90 overs.After winning the toss and taking first strike at the Maulana AzadStadium in Jammu, the visitors lost wicketkeeper Arun Verma in thefourth over of the innings. Gaur and skipper Rajiv Nayyar consolidatedwith a slow but steady 73-run association in all of 38.5 overs.Nayyar, who entered the record books against the same opponents lastseason with a 1015-minute occupation of the crease in scoring 271,was bowled for 45 to give Surinder Singh his second wicket of theinnings.Although Amit Sharma was dismissed in the succeeding over, Gaurcontinued the good work in the company of middle order bats SangramSingh and, in particular, Virender Sharma who struck a swift 44 offjust 48 balls. Both the latter batsmen were scalped by J&K skipper andmediumpacer Abdul Qayoom but Gaur, who struck 14 boundaries in a 267ball knock, saw Himachal safely through to stumps in the company ofRichi Kapoor.