Punjab execute plans to perfection in resounding win

Yuvraj Singh led from the front as Punjab secured their first win of the season © Cricaction

By this time last week, Punjab were left wondering where they went wrong in their opening encounter of the new season. Despite a star-studded line-up, they failed to not only defeat Railways but also conceded the first innings lead as they stuttered to a draw. With a tight schedule though, they had little time to recover before their next match began in Lahli against Madhya Pradesh. By the end of the second session on the final day, the mood in the camp changed.

Madhya Pradesh had a chance! A chance to win the game at the start of the day's play even though they were on the back foot for the majority of the contest. They also a chance to force a draw in the second session, which again they squandered. The plans Punjab had put in place worked to perfection. It all began from the timing of their declaration on the third day. The team management decided to give their seamers somewhere around ten overs to pick up a wicket or two by the end of the day's play, which they gladly obliged as Shubek Singh Gill got rid of Mukul Raghav in the final session on the penultimate day.

Prior to the declaration, Punjab could have played it safe. They could have taken their time to post a big score in order to give MP a huge target and ensure they take defeat completely out of the equation. But Punjab didn't want another draw. Their approach was fantastic. Victories are not handed out on a platter, especially against a gritty side like MP, who began the campaign with a bang against Uttar Pradesh. Their inspirational skipper Devendra Bundela refuses to brand them as underdogs despite lacking star power in their line-up. Against a side that had its moments in the game, Punjab had to force the issue in order to have a crack at victory.

They knew that the ball would be only eight to ten overs new at the start of the final day's play, something which their fast bowlers could exploit in these conditions where the water level is higher, as admitted by first-innings centurion Gurkeerat Singh.

"300 runs on the board in this wicket is quite tough to chase," Gurkeerat had said following the third day's play. "In the morning session, the wicket is damp, the water level over here is quite up, so maybe we get some assistance and get them out as early as possible." And indeed they did. MP began well in the first 45 minutes and even scored some boundaries to create panic in the Punjab dressing room but the seamers remained patient. Four pacers including a debutant were picked in the XI considering the nature of the track and the senior most struck first.

Manpreet Singh Gony, who picked up six in the first innings, found a touch of luck to dismiss Rajat Patidar as the ball slowly went on to disturb the stumps after he inside-edged it onto his pads. That was the opening they needed as the tall seamer struck again exactly four overs later by trapping opener Aditya Shrivastava for 27. With the top order back in the pavilion, skipper Bundela and Harpreet Singh Bhatia, who had scored a double century in the first game had a huge task in their hands. This partnership was crucial to MP's plans and the opposition knew it too. Fifteen balls later, Gony landed the crucial blow by trapping Harpreet plumb in front to nullify MP's chances of going for a win.

Three big wickets in the first session and that was job well done for the bowling side. With 199 more runs needed in the final two sessions and six wickets in hand, MP had to make a decision during the break. Either you play out and be content with a draw or go for the win and risk a loss. Bundela and Shubham Sharma, who looked assured in the first innings, added fifty patient runs but their tactics still weren't clear.

Punjab, on the other hand, were clear with what they had to do. Even with the bat, Punjab's plans in the first innings paid off. They had clear intentions to be positive and look for runs in the final session after tiring out the MP bowlers in the first two, as revealed by Gurkeerat. Jiwanjot Singh did the hard part initially by blunting the attack and then 158 runs came in that final session on the first day.

Their seamers refused to bowl very full on the surface and kept resorting to bowling back of a length in order to get movement off the track. Probably that was the reason why Sandeep Sharma wasn't effective as the other three. Sandeep generally relies on swing and isn't 'hit the deck hard' kind of bowler like Gony. But he was the one who provided Punjab with the first breakthrough post lunch. An element of luck was present in it though as a straight ball from the 23-year-old kept a bit low to shatter Bundela's stumps. But there was no such luck in the next dismissal though as the short leg fielder was perfectly stationed a couple of steps back than his usual position for Ankit Dane. He fell for the trap as the ball looped up in the air after taking the inside edge to land on the same fielder's palms.

With six wickets down, the cat and mouse game began as Ankit Sharma decided to play his shots with Shubham dropping anchor at the other end. The plan was probably to take it as close to the target as possible with a quickfire cameo. It didn't work though as Ankit played one shot too many as he edged one behind to give Gony his tenth wicket of the match. The Punjab selector who was present at the venue had a smile on his face. The move to persist with Gony, who had fallen off the radar in recent years after a strong start to his career, paid off. The 32-year-old badly needed this performance with young pacers knocking on the doors. Barindar Sran is recovering and is expected to be picked once he regains fitness, the debutant Shubek had a decent game and so did Siddarth Kaul, who bowled without luck for the major part of the game.

By this time, a small group of people were present in the ground hoping to catch a glimpse of Yuvraj Singh. At one point, the cheers were clearly audible when he brought himself on to bowl for one over. Kaul on the other end though finally picked up a wicket. He let out a huge roar after getting Shubham caught behind. Prior to that, at one stage he got frustrated when he kept missing the outside edge of the bat and had to be egged on by his teammates. He got rewarded for his patience in the end as he added the last two wickets as well to his tally to complete the formalities.

Punjab will be boosted soon by the return of Harbhajan Singh, who missed the first two games. Mandeep Singh will be back as well following the conclusion of the One-Day International series, but on the flip side, tougher challenges lie ahead with the likes of Mumbai, Tamil Nadu, Bengal and Uttar Pradesh present in the same group. But expect this unit to be a step ahead of their opposition and put their plans in place yet again.