*Shubham Khajuria bags man of the match award
Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, Aug 18: Jammu and Kashmir registered a crucial win by virtue of first innings lead over formidable Chhattisgarh to stay alive in the ongoing prestigious Buchi Babu Invitational Cricket Tournament, being organised by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, here.
Talented opening batter Shubham Khajuria, who scored a magnificent double century was declared as the man of the match, while others who contributed with the bat included Sahil Lotra, scoring a splendid century (107), skipper Paras Dogra (73) and Abdul Samad (58), thus guiding Jammu and Kashmir to a huge first innings lead and finally win by virtue of the same in the ongoing prestigious Buchi Babu Invitational Cricket Tournament, being organised by Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA), here.
Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir had declared their first innings at 587/49 in 156 overs against Chhattisgarh’s score of 278 runs.
Chhattisgarh after resuming the innings at 46/2, were going great guns at 276/2 before the draw of stumps on the final day today. Prateek Yadav was at the crease on 148 runs off 177 balls, studded with 14 fours and 4 sixes, while Anuj Tiwari was unbeaten on 85 off 210 balls, studded with 6 fours and 2 sixes.
For J&K, left-arm spinner Abid Mushtaq and right-arm off-spinner Sahil Lotra claimed one wicket.
Earlier, in this multi-day match, Shubham Khajuria had scored a mammoth 202 runs off 368 balls, studded with 17 fours and 8 sixes, while Sahil Lotra had scored 107 off 192 balls with 9 fours and 2 sixes. Skipper Paras Dogra had scored 73 off 132 balls with 7 delectable boundaries and Abdul Samad had contributed 58 off 70 balls with 9 fours and one six. Shubham Khajuria, in particular, had shown a stellar grit and tenacity and played with sublimity, solidity, elegance and brilliance.
Chhattisgarh after opting to bat first had started brightly as the openers had put on 52 for the first wicket. Ayush Pandey (138) and Amandeep Khare (65) also put on 143 for the third wicket, but in what was a pattern across the grounds, wickets fell much more quickly towards the end of the day. They were eventually bowled out for 278.
For J&K, Abid Mushtaq was the pick of the bowlers, who took 4 wickets by conceding 47 runs in 17.4 overs, while Sahil Lotra and Vishal Kumar bagged 3 and 2 wickets respectively and Yudhvir Singh claimed one wicket.
The Jammu and Kashmir team is being accompanied by Ajay Sharma as the Head Coach, P Krishna Kumar as the Bowling Coach, Chirag Pandya as the Physiotherapist and Sunny Verma as the Trainer cum Manager.
Brief Scores: Chhattisgarh 278 (Ayush Pandey 138; Abid Mushtaq 4-47), Jammu and Kashmir 587/9 (Shubham Khajuria 202, Sahil Lotra 107, Paras Dogra 73, Abdul Samad 58; Mayank Yadav 2/87).
Chhattisgarh 2nd innings: 276/2, Prateek Yadav 148*, Anuj Tiwari 85*; Sahil Lotra 1/69, Abid Mushtaq 1/69.