Ahmedabad, Dec 28 (PTI) Opener Priyank Panchal led from the front with an unbeaten half-century as Gujarat gave a strong reply to Chandigarh’s 304 in their Ranji Trophy Group D match here on Wednesday.

Panchal was batting on 87 off 146 balls (8×4, 1×6) in company with wicketkeeper-batter Het Patel (37) in an unbroken 53-run stand as Gujarat were 249/3 at stumps on day two, trailing Chandigarh by 55 runs.

Panchal was also involved in two key partnerships; first with Kathan Patel (47; 66b), and then Priyesh Patel (62; 108b) to take the team forward.

Earlier, Chandigarh managed to add 57 runs to their overnight total before being dismissed in 116 overs.

Lather, who was unbeaten on 68, was dismissed 13 runs short of a century, becoming Hardik Patel’s third victim (3/39).

Shen Patel claimed 4/85 while Sidharth Desai (2/74) ended Chandigarh’s first innings dismissing Hartejassvi Kapoor.

In reply, Gujarat put on an opening stand of 76 with Panchal and Patel before the latter fell short of his half-century after being dismissed by Lather.

Having shone with the bat, Lather was also the pick of the bowlers for Chandigarh and took all the three wickets to fall.

After trapping Patel lbw, Lather accounted for Chandigarh No 3 Saurabh Chauhan (11) with the addition of just 17 runs. But Panchal held firm and forged a century-plus stand with Patel.

Brief Scores In Ahmedabad: Chandigarh 304; 116 overs (Bhagmender Lather 87, Arslan Khan 56, Gaurav Puri 51; Shen Patel 4/85, Hardik Patel 3/39, Siddharth Desai 2/74). Gujarat 249/3; 61 overs (Priyank Panchal 87 batting, Priyesh Patel 62, Kathan Patel 47; Lather 3/62). Gujarat trail by 55 runs.

In Indore: Railways 274. Madhya Pradesh 243/8; 83.3 overs (Rajat Patidar 54, Himanshu Mantri 48, Shubham Sharma 40; Sagar Jadhav 4/28). MP trail by 31 runs.

In Nagpur: Jammu and Kashmir 191 and 75/3; 28 overs (Shubham Khajuria 39 batting; Akshay Wakhare 2/17). Vidarbha 272; 83.5 overs (Aditya Sarwate 75, Atharva Taide 74, Harsh Dubey 55; Umar Nazir Mir 5/39, Abid Mushtaq 3/66).

In Agartala: Punjab 203; 64.2 overs (Prabhsimran Singh 55, Mandeep Singh 41; Manisankar Murasingh 5/48, Abhijit Sarkar 2/57, Ajay Sarkar 2/57). Tripura 17 for no loss. Tripura trail by 186 runs.

Source: PTI News