Punjab and Jharkhand men registed wins in the first two league matches of the 24th Senior National Baseball Championship, which began at the Ravenshaw University ground here today.
Punjab defeated Chandigarh 18-8 in Pool-D, while Jharkahnd prevailed over Rajasthan 12-7 in Pool-B.

Earlier, the six-day championship was inaugurated by Incom Tax Commissioner Trailokya Jena. Organising Committee chairman and Barabati MLA Debasish Samantaray and host Baseball Association of Orissa secretary Sibananda Pradhan were present in the opening ceremony.

Altogether 23 men’s teams and 21 women’s teams joined the championship, which is being staged in Orissa for the fourth time. Teams have been divided into four pools and top two teams from each pool will advance to the quarterfinals.

Matches in men’s category will feature five innings in quarterfinals, seven in semifinals and nine in the final. In the women’s section, it will be three innings in quarterfinals, five in semifinals and seven in the final. Last year, Goa men and Delhi women emerged champions, while Orissa finished runners-up in both the sections.