Una: A deadly spell of three for nineteen, supported by a sparkling knock of 85 by Rahul Panta help Himachal defeat Services by five wickets in one day Ranji tie here yesterday.

Electing to bat after winning the toss, Services were all out for 215 in 48.1 overs. Services lost three early wickets and were 29 for 3 at one stage . A 97 run fourth wicket partnership between opener Sarabjit Singh and Sanjay Verma, who scored 64 and 51 runs respectively helped the visitors to push the score to 215.

Himachal skipper Rajiv Nayyar claimed two wickets for 19. Asim got two wickets for 33 runs. The remaining three wickets wre claimed by Shakti Singh, Nischal Gaur and Sangram Singh.

In reply, Himachal made a good beginning with openers Rahul Panta and Nischal Gaur scoring 90 runs. Rahul Panta who was dismissed by Javed was the top scorer with 85 runs while Anuj Pal and Arun Verma remained not out at 20 and 18 respectively.

Sayed Javed and Pankaj claimed two wickets each for 45 and 44 runs respectively while the remaining wicket was claimed by K.K.Dixit. Himachal scored 217 for five in 48.3 overs to register its first victory in one day Ranji matches.

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