Thanks to an unbeaten 57 by Amit Sinha, Saurashtra ended the first day at 269 for eight in their Vijay Merchant Trophy Under-16 quarterfinal match against Punjab at the Tala Park in Calcutta on Thursday.

Opting to bat, Saurashtra made a steady start with openers Bhusan Chohan (37) and Jayesh Jadhav (37) adding 76 in 24.5 overs. Jadhav was the first to be dismissed caught by V Bhalla off Ankur Jund. His partner Chohan soon followed him back to the pavilion, caught by Bhalla off Vipul Sharma. But Nikhil Rathore (44) and C Potara (12) steadied the innings with a 44-run third wicket stand in 17.2 overs.

Seven runs after the fall of C Potara (120/3), his replacement Rahul Parmer was caught by G Gupta off Vipul Sharma. After a 93-minute stay at the crease, Rathore was bowled by Vipul with the scorecard reading 141. Then Utpal Rana (32) with the help of the tailenders took the score on to 193/7. New batsman K Mavla made no significant impact and departed caught by Bhupinder of Vinod Minhas. At 205 for 8, Saurashtra's chances of batting till stumps looked bleak. But Amit Sinha came to the rescue with a timely half century. He shared a 64- run unbeaten ninth wicket partnership, taking the team to stumps with no further hiccups. Vinod Minhas (3 for 93) and Vipul Sharma (3 for 33) were the successful bowlers for Punjab.

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