Punjab coach Intikhab Alam wants his team to make winning a habit and the boys have ensured their coach is happy. On Monday, Punjab completed their third successive win for the season when they humbled Maharashtra by an innings and 238 runs — on the third day— in their Elite Group B clash at the PCA Stadium, Mohali. ‘‘It’s a very satisfying feeling and we are all playing as a unit, which is helping achieve good results. We now have to play away from home against Tamil Nadu and Hyderabad and we hope to continue doing well,’’ skipper Dinesh Mongia said after the match as his teammates concentrated on their football match, being refereed by Inti. Punjab declared its first innings at the overnight score of 566 for 4 and Maharashtra — facing a deficit of 443 runs — found the going tough and crumbled on a seaming track. Only midlle-order bat Kaushik Aphale stood tall amidst the ruins. In what was an innings of grit and gumption, Aphale battled for 194 minutes, faced 147 balls, to finally score an unbeaten 83 with 13 fours and a six. He shared a 102-run stand with Hrishikesh Kanitkar, who scored 53, but once Kanitkar was removed by Navdeep Singh, Punjab sliced through the rest of the batting order. Four of the lower half Maharashtra batsmen were dismissed for ducks and only three more managed to enter the double figures. Sharing the spoils for Punjab this time were Navdeep Singh (4 for 79) and Ravneet Ricky and Ankul Kakkar (two wickets each), while Reetinder Singh Sodhi and Amit Uniyal chipped in with a wicket each. The win also saw Punjab gain a bonus point and they now top Group B with 16 points from four games. Punjab will now travel to Chennai to meet Tamil Nadu in the next round from December 13 to 16. RANJI FORM BOOK
