Excelsior Special Correspondent
BAJALTA, Apr 17: Nagrota Youngstar Eagles today lifted the first Maruti Suzuki Nagrota Premier League Trophy by defeating Chak Rakwal in final, played at Sprawling Playfield in the scenic ambience here.
Congratulating the winners over their magnificent win, National Conference president and former Union Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah described the tournament as a landmark step towards promoting cricket by providing logistic support and a huge platform to budding cricketers of Nagrota Assembly Constituency.
Holding and sustaining such a long-duration event in itself is a great contribution for promotion of the gentleman’s game and MLA Nagrota, Devender Singh Rana deserves kudos for his innovative step and organizational skills, Dr Abdullah said, hoping this will become an annual feature. He said cricket holds promise for youngsters and the day is not far when Bajalta playfield will produce stars in the game, which will bring laurels to the state and the country.
Dr Abdullah exhorted young players to concentrate on the game and specialise in disciplines like batting and bowling, which will put them in good stead to face the competitive world confidently.
While giving away winners and runners up trophies besides awards to all those who contributed in the successful event, Dr Abdullah announced cash prize of Rs 10,000 for Man of the Match Rajeshwar. He also complimented the participating players, saying victory and defeat remains part of the game, which should be taken in sportsman spirit. He said sports forge bonds and helps in building camaraderie between players, which is imperative for success of the events of such magnitude.
Earlier, winning the toss, Chak Rakwala Leopards elected to bat first and scored 113 runs for the loss of Six wickets in prescribed 20 overs. Youdhveer scored 24, followed by Shamsher with 23 runs.
Chasing the target Nagrota Young Star Eagles managed to score 114 runs in 15.1 overs after losing one wicket only.
Rajeshwar scored 53 runs and remained not out while Lucky contributed with 41 runs and remained not out. For his unbeaten innings, Rajeshwar was declared as Man of the Match and was awarded with Rs 10,000 and a Trophy.
The winners, Nagrota Young Star Eagles were presented a cheque of Rs. 1 lakh and a trophy, while runners-up team, Chak Rakwala Leopards was presented with a trophy and a cheque of Rs 50,000.
The match was officiated by Saleem-ur- Rehman and Sadiq Hussain from the Department of Youth Services and Sports, J&K. The matches were played under the overall supervision of Faheem Tak, Vice President Take-1 Channel and Member Organizing Committee.
Besides Provincial President National Conference and MLA Nagrota, Devender Singh Rana, the final was witnessed by Hemanshu Asoopa, Area Manager Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. and Mayank Garg, Territory Sales Manager, Rural Marketing, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.
Dwelling upon the tournament, Mr Rana said the tournament was organized with an avowed objective of identifying talent and providing them opportunities to perform, first at a limited scale and then in various events at the State and the national levels. “Apart from channelizing the energies of youth in proper direction, the sports activities will forge camaraderie between various segments of the society”, he said adding that such efforts will give economic fillip to the people of the area as well.
In all, 65 teams of 43 Panchayats of the Nagrota Assembly Constituency participated in the knock-out tournament, which was witnessed by large number of locals as also the cricket lovers from Jammu and elsewhere.
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