Nehal Pajni and Arslan Khan take Chandigarh past 500 as Himachal Pradesh toil at Sector 16

Chandigarh have reached 528 for 2 on the second day against Himachal Pradesh at Sector 16, with Nehal Pajni unbeaten on 192 when the total passed 500

A side that had not batted past 200 in four completed innings this season has spent two days refusing to give Himachal Pradesh a third wicket. Chandigarh were 528 for 2 after 118 overs of their first innings in the Elite Group D match in Chandigarh, having been put in by a Himachal captain who chose to field.

The innings has been built on two long stays. Arjun Azad made 147 before being stumped off the spin of Mukul Negi, and Nehal Pajni has been at the crease since the first morning, reaching 192 from 312 balls with 22 fours and two sixes by the time the score went past 500.

Himachal Pradesh used six bowlers for those two wickets. Neither side has a point from the first two rounds, and this is the first time in the campaign that either batting line-up has settled.

Pajni's two-day occupation

Pajni was 126 not out at the close of the opening day, when Chandigarh finished on 363 for 2, and he returned to add to it without an alarm. He was 162 from 278 balls when the total reached 440, and 192 from 312 when it passed 500.

His strike rate has stayed close to 60 throughout, with the scoring coming almost entirely in boundaries rather than in risk. Two sixes in more than 300 balls is the measure of the innings.

Chandigarh's run rate has sat at about four and a half an over, which has given the innings its size without ever forcing the pace.

Azad sets it up on day one

Azad's 147 was the first of the two big scores and the one that broke the back of the Himachal attack. He was eventually stumped by Ankush Bains off Mukul Negi, the only wicket to fall to spin for a long stretch.

Captain Manan Vohra made 61 before Akash Vasisht had him caught by Vaibhav Kalta, the other dismissal of the innings.

That pair of departures came early enough that Chandigarh have since batted through the best part of two sessions without losing anyone.

Arslan Khan keeps it moving

Arslan Khan has been the quicker of the two batters at the crease, reaching 53 from 78 balls and then 82 from 108 with 11 fours as the total climbed past 500.

His tempo has been the difference between a solid Chandigarh first innings and one that has taken the match away from Himachal Pradesh, and the third-wicket stand was still unbroken as the total climbed.

Himachal's attack runs out of answers

Negi has carried the heaviest load. By the time Chandigarh reached 440 he had one wicket for 123 from 31 overs, and Akash Vasisht had the other, for 34 from nine. Abhishek Kumar bowled three maidens in a wicketless 19-over spell that cost 66.

Arpit Guleria, Jitender Rana and Aryaman Singh had all gone without a wicket at that stage, Rana conceding 76 from 13 overs and Aryaman Singh 73 from 17.

Himachal Pradesh came into the round having been beaten by seven wickets by Haryana and by an innings and 97 runs by Mumbai, so the bowling has had little respite this season.

A turnaround from two innings defeats

Chandigarh's season had been bleak before this week. Mumbai beat them by an innings and 155 runs in the opening round, when they were dismissed for 78 and 196.

Haryana then beat them by an innings and 24 runs inside two days, Chandigarh managing 103 and 118 against a Haryana side for whom Nishant Sindhu scored 92 and took 6 for 27.

Those results left Chandigarh bottom of Elite Group D on no points, level with Himachal Pradesh, who have also lost both of their matches. A first innings of this size guarantees neither a win nor a point, but it is the first time this season that Chandigarh have had the game in their hands.

Scorecard: Chandigarh 528 for 2 (118 overs) v Himachal Pradesh, day two, Sector 16 Stadium, Chandigarh

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