Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, May 22: Jammu Premier League (JPL) Tigers registered a narrow 1 wicket victory over JPL Lions in a trial match to pick 3 players from 30 short-listed players for advanced coaching, analogous to Kashmir Premier League.
It may be recalled here that top 3 players picked from the probables of Kashmir Premier League were sponsored by the Indian Army and sent for the advanced training last year.
Earlier winning the toss and electing to bat first, JPL Lions scored 133 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in 25 overs. Paras Sharma played a brilliant innings of 54 runs in 41 balls with the help of 4 boundaries and one six. He played all the shots with pure brilliance. Nihal Khajuria contributed 32 runs and Satish Kumar chipped in 15 runs including 2 fours. For JPL Tigers, Salman and Adnan scalped 2 wickets each, while Abid Mushtaq, Ankush and Imtiyaz claimed one wicket apiece.
While chasing a modest total of 134 runs, JPL Tigers lost wickets at regular intervals but managed a narrow win in last but one over, with just one wicket in hand. Abid Mushtaq slammed a marvelous half-century (50) in 52 balls with the help of 4 boundaries, while Jaspreet and Kanishk contributed 19 and 14 runs to the total respectively. Shivam Gupta and Satish Kumar captured 3 wickets each for JPL Lions, while Siddant claimed one.
The match was officiated by Mukesh Sharma, Madan and Arvind.
It is pertinent to mention here that top 30 players of JPL, ageing below 20 years, who have been drawn from all 10 districts of Jammu division, with 3 players from each district, are participating in these trial matches. Only 3 players would be picked for the advanced coaching.
Meanwhile, the matches are being held under the supervision of Deputy Director (Central) Youth Services and Sports, Ashok Kumar and SS Bali, Deputy Director Youth Services and Sports, Jammu. Ashok Kumar visited the venue and stressed upon the participating players to give their hundred percent and make it to the higher levels.