Aarav, Dhruv dazzle; J&K wins against U’khand

Excelsior Sports Correspondent

JAMMU, Nov 21: Aarav Mahajan of Uttarakhand and Dhruv Sharma of Jammu and Kashmir shared the honours as J&K registered victory over Uttarakhand by virtue of the first innings lead in the U-19 boys Cooch Behar Trophy at Highlanders Sports Academy Kashipur.
After scoring 134 in the first innings, Aarav Mahajan once again blossomed with the willow, scoring 77 runs off just 39 balls, studded with 4 fours and 5 sixes after Uttarakhand after conceding 133-run first innings lead was chasing a target of 279 runs in last one and a half session of the fourth and final day.
Another first innings’ centurion Abhyuday contributed 28 runs to the total as Uttarakhand finished at 203/5 at stumps. For J&K, Laith August and Mudhasir Abdullah took 2 wickets each, while Mohd Mousab Bhat claimed one wicket.
Earlier, in the first innings, J&K’s promising middle-order batters Dhruv Sharma and Bilal Ahmed Bhat slammed classic centuries and made a 6th wicket partnership of 232 runs to help Jammu and Kashmir score a huge total of 540 runs in the first innings against formidable Uttarakhand. Uttarakhand in reply scored 407 runs to concede a lead of 133 runs to Jammu and Kashmir. Opener Abhyuday had scored 117, while Aarav had played superb innings of 134 runs.
J&K while riding on a big partnership between the duo of Dhruv Sharma and Bilal Ahmed Bhat had scored a massive total of 540 runs. Dhruv Sharma scored 117 runs off 252 balls studded with 17 boundaries, while Bilal Ahmed made 118 off 108 balls, studded with 20 fours. Zaid Ahmed remained unconquered on 66 runs off 70 balls with 8 boundaries and 2 sixes. For Uttarakhand, Prabal Sachdeva had captured 4 wickets by giving away 86 runs in 32.3 overs, while Dev took 3 wickets by conceding 94 runs in his 29 overs. DP Singh and Aarav Mahajan had bagged 2 and one wickets respectively.
“J&K boys played very well and registered victory over their counterparts from Uttarakhand. J&K team will take on Uttar Pradesh in their next outing on November 24 at JKCA Hostel Ground in Jammu,” stated Brig Anil Gupta, Member-Administration JKCA.