Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, Jan 23: Magnificent 77 runs by talented opening batsman Ahmad Omar Banday, coupled with brilliant bowling display by the speedsters’ trio of Auqib Nabi, Aakash Choudhary and Rohit Sharma, besides skipper Shubham Khajuria’s valuable 43 and promising Shubham Singh Pundir’s unbeaten 22 runs at crucial juncture helped J&K to get the better of Himachal Pradesh by 2-runs via JVD Method in a rain-hit match of the Men’s Cricket Under-23 League cum Knockout Tournament at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala, today.
This was 2nd consecutive win in the tournament as J&K thrashed Delhi in their first outing while chasing a record total of 301 runs.
Earlier, J&K skipper Shubham Khajuria won the toss and put Himachal Pradesh into bat.
Batting first, Himachal Pradesh scored a decent total of 270 runs in 49.4 overs. Opening batsman, SG Arora top scored with 77 runs off 94 balls with the help of 8 fours and one six, while wicketkeeper batsman Ankush Bains, PS Khanduri, EC Sen and Mohd Arslan Z Khan contributed 37, 33, 32 and 23 runs respectively. For Jammu and Kashmir, the trio of medium pace bowlers Auqib Nabi, Akash Choudhary and Rohit Sharma took 4, 3 and 2 wickets respectively.
While Nabi gave away 55 runs in his 10 overs by scalping 4 wickets, Choudhary was the most economical and the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 wickets by conceding just 37 runs in his 9.4 overs. Rohit gave away 46 runs in 10 overs by taking 2 wickets, while Abid Mushtaq claimed 1 wicket in his 9 overs. Shubham Khajuria also hit good areas in his military medium stuff, conceding 43 runs off his 8 overs.
In reply, J&K were 183/4 in 39 overs when rain stopped play with last match heroes Shubham Singh Pundir on unbeaten 22 off 31 balls and Fazil Rashid on 6 off 13 balls. Due to the inclement weather conditions, the match could not be resumed and J&K emerged winner via JVD Method.
Earlier, Ahmad Banday, who scored fabulous 83 runs in the win against strong Delhi on the other day, again played a superb innings of 77 runs in 109 balls, studded with 11 fours and 2 sixes to help his team win. He was in sublime form and hit the ball with elegance and grace. Shubham Khajuria also contributed 43 of 49 balls including 4 fours and 1 six and young opening batsman Jatin Wadhawan chipped in with 21 off 29 balls with the help of 4 crispy boundaries. AP Sharma, who bagged 3 wickets by giving away 32 runs in his 9 overs was the only successful bowler from Himachal Pradesh.
The J&K team, which after thrashing formidable Delhi on the other day, registered second consecutive win in this prestigious tournament, is being accompanied by Fayaz Hazare as manager and Sameer Khajuria as coach, while Mohd Iqbal and Dr Karan Nayyar (BCCI accredited) are trainer and physio respectively.
The team was selected by the senior selection committee of JKCA including Ashwani Gupta (Chairman), Vivek Sharma, Arshid Bhat and Pradeep Bali.
Meanwhile, the two wins against the formidable teams like Delhi and Himachal Pradesh has silenced the critics who were hell-bent upon to knock the selectors’ heads off through their ambiguous statements.
“J&K Under-23 team is the bunch of highly talented boys. The likes of Bandays, Khajurias, Pundirs, Wadhawans, Rashids and Sharmas possess all that is required to blossom at the higher levels. They just need patronage and promotion. Selection has always been a thankless job as they can’t please everybody while picking 15, out of hundreds,” said one of the selectors on the condition of anonymity while talking to EXCELSIOR.
He further said that the need is to believe in their ability and pat them, rather than demoralizing them for their smaller faults.
“Hats off to all the players and the support staff for making us feel proud,” the selector added.
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