4th Ashok Sodhi Memorial T20 Tournament
Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, May 6: Veteran cricketer Akshay Khajuria’s swashbuckling knock of quick-fire 75 runs went in vain as youngster Jatin Wadhavan stole the show by smashing a power-packed half-century to guide Singh Cricket Club (SCC), Akhnoor to an emphatic win over Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) XI by 5 wickets to enter the semifinals of the ongoing 4th Ashok Sodhi Memorial T20 Tournament, being organized by the Print and Electronic Cameramen Association Jammu at Parade ground, here.
Earlier, electing to bat first after winning the toss, JKP XI rode on a superb knock of 75 runs by Akshay Khajuria to post a decent total of 169 runs in the stipulated 20 overs, losing 6 wickets in the process. Akshay made his experience to count and sent the rival bowlers on a leather-hunt by smashing 9 crispy boundaries and one massive six in his knock. Skipper Rajesh Gill, Farooq and Naresh contributed 20, 19 and 19 runs to the total respectively. Sunny was the most successful bowler for SCC Akhnoor, who captured 3 important wickets, while Sham Singh Langeh bagged two. Pardeep Bali and Rajan also claimed one wicket each.
In reply, SCC Akhnoor sailed on a murderous knock of 50 runs by Jatin and useful contributions from Jasvinder Singh (44), Rajan (22) and Pardeep Bali (17) and chased the required target on penultimate ball of the match by losing 5 wickets. Jatin smashed 7 delectable boundaries and two towering sixes in his magnificent knock. He played all the shots with fluidity and grace and had a nightmarish onslaught on the rival bowlers. For JKP XI, Saqib took 2 wickets, while Shashi and Shamsher claimed one wicket each. For his thunderous half-century, Jatin Wadhavan was declared man of the match.
In another match, Cantt Cricket Club scripted a narrow win by 4 wickets in a close contest of a low scoring quarterfinal match to seal berth in the semifinals.
Batting first, Young XI bundled out for a meagre total of 90 runs in 19.3 overs. Dimple was the top scorer with 37 runs including 4 boundaries, while Raghu and Shamsudin contributed 15 and 12 runs to the total respectively. Raj Kumar was pick of the bowlers for Cantt Club, who scalped 3 wickets by conceding 16 runs in his 4 overs, while Khushwant Singh claimed 2 wickets and Dheeraj one.
Cantt Club, in reply chased the target in 19.3 overs by losing 6 wickets, and thus won the match by 4 wickets. Ameet top scored with 22 runs, while Vijay Dogra, Sunil Govil and Dheeraj contributed 16, 14 and 10 runs to the total. For Young XI, Raghu took 2 wickets, while Shamsudin, Ritesh and Kuldeep claimed one wicket each. Raj Kumar of Cantt Club was adjudged man of the match for his superb bowling display.
The matches were officiated by Sadiq Husain Malik and Saleem-ur-Rehman as umpires, while Ajay Sharma maintained the scorebook.
Senior Congress leader, Gulchain Singh Charak was the chief guest in today’s inaugural function, who interacted with the players of both the teams on the occasion.
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