Ahmedabad: Openers Jiwanjot Singh and Uday Kaul hit half centuries as Punjab reached 219 for 4 in their first innings in reply to Gujarat's mammoth 513 for 8 on the third day of their Ranji Trophy cricket match here Thursday.
Jiwanjot (76) and Kaul (77) shared 153 runs for the opening wicket in 66.6 overs to give a strong foundation of Punjab reply at the Sardar Patel Stadium at Motera.
But, once the duo were out in quick succession, Punjab struggled, with captain Mandeep Singh and India discard Yuvraj Singh dismissed cheaply for 27 and 14 respectively.
Yuvraj, who has hit three centuries this season, fell to off-spinner Rujul Bhatt towards the close of the day's play.
It was a very slow Punjab reply, as they could add 210 runs in 91 overs after resuming the day at 9/0. The scoring rate was a mere 2.23 runs per over.
At close of play, one-down Taruwar Kohli and Sarabjit Ladda were batting on 21 and 0 respectively.
Punjab still trail by 294 runs with six first innings wickets in hand.
For Gujarat, Bhatt took two wickets while Nileshkumar Chauhan and Ramesh Powar got a wicket each.
Brief Scores:
Gujarat: 513 for 8 decl
Punjab: 219 for 4 in 98 overs (Jiwanjot Singh 76, Uday Kaul 77; Rujul Bhatt 2/32).
