An unbeaten knock of 96 runs by opener Rohit Prakash failed to lift Uttar Pradesh as the visitors reached 239 for eight against Punjab in the Ranji Trophy Elite 'B' season opener at PCA stadium in Mohali on Sunday.
Prakash's solo effort was studded with eleven hits to the fence and it took him 261 balls to craft his innings.
Barring a 64-run partnership for the third wicket with Suresh Raina, who was out on 42, Prakash found little support from others including captain Mohammad Kaif who managed to score only 14.
For Punjab, Gagandeep and Rajesh were the most successful bowlers sharing three wickets each while A Uniyal and V R V Singh claimed a wicket each.
The hosts managed to make early inroads dismissing the other opener Jyoti P Yadav for just nine runs.
After fall of Raina's wicket, the middle order collapsed with Prakash toiling hard to hold the innings together.
Salabh Srivastava was yet to open his account when stumps were drawn for the day.
Scorecard:
Uttar Pradesh 1st innings:
Rohit Parkash not out 96
Jyoti P Yadav b Gagandeep 09
Mohd Kaif lbw Gagandeep 14
Suresh Raina c Ricky V R V Singh 42
Rahat Elahi lbw Rajesh 15
Gyanendra Pandey lbw Rajesh 05
Mohd Amir Khan b Rajesh 05
Praveen Gupta c and b Uniyal 21
A W Zaidi b Gagandeep 11
Salabh Srivastava not out 00
Extras (nb 9, w 3 byes 2, lb 7) 21
Total (for 8 wkts in 90 overs) 239
Fall of wickets: 1/15, 2/39, 3/103, 4/144, 5/158, 6/166, 7/210, 8/235.
Bowling: Gagandeep 24-6-57-3, A Uniyal 20-3-54-1, V R V Singh 18-2-60-1, Rajesh 21-5-44-3, R Sodhi 3-1-7-0, D Mongia 4-1-8-0.