World Cup discards Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir hit centuries in Ranji

Patiala: They may have left it too late but they have been stars in their own right. Not winning a ticket to World Cup 2015 did not stop Yuvraj Singh and Gautam Gambhir from displaying their grit in the ongoing Ranji Trophy.

Riding on a brilliant batting show by Indian discard Yuvraj, Punjab thrashed Haryana by 120 runs in the Group B Ranji Trophy cricket match, here on Wednesday.

Man-of-the-match Yuvraj made it count for the Mandeep Singh-led Punjab by scoring 59 and a brilliant 130 in the first and second innings respectively.

Looking to pick up the final seven wickets on the fourth and final day of the encounter, Punjab bowlers completed the formalities by packing Haryana for 200 runs early in the third session.

Getting behind a 321-run chase, Haryana started Wednesday on 26 for three and it was only Sachin Rana (86) who put up some fight as Punjab pace spearhead Sandeep Sharma, left-arm spinner Rajwinder Singh and leg-spinner Sarabjit Ladda picked up three wickets each.

Earlier, Yuvraj with his 160-ball stay - laced with 14 fours and 5 sixes, helped Punjab post 330 for six declared in the second innings.

On the other hand, Gambhir stole the show for Delhi in the first innings as his team beat Saurashtra by nine wickets in another Group B tie.

The World Cup-discard spent 430 minutes in the middle, faced 308 balls to score 147 before Chirag Jani ran him out. His innings included 18 boundaries and two sixes.

Brief scores: Punjab 273 and 330/6 d (Y Singh 130, A Singh 65; A Mishra 2-58) bt Haryana 283 and 200 all out in 60.5 overs (S Rana 86; S Sharma 3-30, R Singh 3-54, S Ladda 3-76) by 120 runs

New Delhi 442 all out and 19/1 (G Gambhir 10*; A Bhatt 1/9) bt Saurashtra 217 and 240 (S Jackson 51, S Jogiyani 48; S Narwal 3/41, N Saini 3/27) by 9 wickets