Gill was bowled for 1 on his Ranji return, and Uday Saharan’s 161 and 40 not out won it for Punjab
Punjab enforced the follow-on, then had to chase 86 against the clock on the last afternoon in New Chandigarh. Their captain did it again.
Oct 21, 2026
Shubman Gill came to New Chandigarh for some red-ball batting before India’s Tests in New Zealand, and he got five balls of it. Ajay Mandal bowled him for 1 on the first morning. The runs Punjab needed came from their captain instead. Uday Saharan made 161 in the first innings and an unbeaten 40 off 36 balls in the second, and Punjab beat Chhattisgarh by seven wickets on Wednesday with 45 minutes of the final day left.
It is Punjab’s first outright win of the season, after a draw with Assam in the opening round, and it was worth six points.
Saharan’s two big stands
Punjab chose to bat and were 68 for 3 when Gill went, Mandal beating his defence in the 27th over. Saharan then put on 130 with Prabhsimran Singh, who made 62, and 191 more for the fifth wicket with wicketkeeper Salil Arora, who scored 107. Saharan batted 299 balls and hit 15 fours. Punjab were bowled out for 456 on the second day, and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja bowled 55.5 overs of left-arm spin for his 7 for 173.
Harpreet Brar’s seven
Chhattisgarh’s reply lasted less than 65 overs. Harpreet Brar had them 45 for 5 inside 20 overs and finished with 7 for 56. Amandeep Khare’s 91 and Vikalp Tiwari’s 47 got them to 206, still 250 behind, and Saharan sent them back in.
The second innings was a proper fight. Chhattisgarh were 49 for 3, but Aayush Pandey batted 252 balls for 111 and Khare added 62. Khare retired hurt with a sore arm and came back out at the end as the last man. Pandey was run out by substitute fielder Ramandeep Singh, and then Mandal (45) and Jadeja (47) took the lower order past the deficit. Chhattisgarh were all out for 335 in 116.2 overs. Emanjot Singh Chahal took 3 for 43 from 22.2 overs and Harjas Singh 3 for 92. Gill bowled one over, which cost nine.
Saharan finishes it
The target was 86, with the clock now a factor. Jadeja and Mandal had Punjab 14 for 2 inside four overs. Saharan went to the sweep, Prabhsimran hit 24 off 21 in a stand of 33, and Arora stayed with his captain to the end. Punjab got there in 16.5 overs, and Gill never had to walk out.
Hyderabad next
Punjab have nine points from two games and sit second in Elite Group B, four behind Hyderabad, who beat Andhra by 267 runs on the same day. The two meet in Secunderabad from 26 October.