New Delhi: Services batsman Nakul Verma (101) struck his maiden century in Ranji Trophy and shared an unbeaten 169-run stand for the fourth wicket with Yashpal Singh (57) as their Group B match against Rajasthan expectedly ended in a draw, here on Sunday.
Rajasthan had already ensured themselves three points by taking a first innings lead yesterday and today they lost seven wickets to be all out for 424.
Overall they had a 99-run lead and Services ended day four at 172 for three after being reduced to nine for three at one stage.
Nakul`s 101 came off 188 balls with the help of 14 shots to the fence while Yashpal took 143 balls for his 57, which had five boundaries.
After Rajasthan paceman Pankaj Singh scalped both the openers -- Pratik Desai (4) and Soumik Chatterjee (4) -- his pace colleague Aniket Choudhary had Anshil Gupta caught behind for a duck, causing ripples in the rival camp.
However, Nakul and Yashpal batted with dogged determination to ensure their side do not suffer an unexpected defeat.
In the morning session, Rajasthan lost remaining seven wickets inside 15 overs with an addition of 79 runs to their overnight total.
The off-spin duo of T Koteswar Rao (4/99) and Rajat Paliwal (3/63) shared seven wickets between them.
Brief Scores:
Services 325 and 172 for 3 in 60 overs.(Nakul Verma 101 not out, Yashpal Singh 57 not out; Pankaj Singh 2/23).
Rajasthan 1st innings: 424 all out in 176.5 overs (Robin Bisht 134, Rajesh Bishnoi 112; T K Rao 4/99).
