Excelsior Sports Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 26: Jammu and Kashmir thrashed formidable Karnataka by 10 wickets to register fourth consecutive win as right-arm off-spinner, Praful Dhar wreaked havoc, scalping 6 important wickets, but mighty J&K team was tamed by strong Delhi by 7 wickets to be knocked out of the Tournament before making it to the semifinals stage in the ongoing National School Games in the discipline of cricket under-14 boys at Mehboob Nagar in Telangana.
After thrashing Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Goa in the pool matches, the Jammu and Kashmir team demolished Karnataka in the knockout stage today, before losing to Delhi in the quarterfinals, closing all its doors for making it to the last four stage.
Earlier, winning the toss and batting first, Karnataka bundled out for a paltry total of 59 runs in the stipulated 15 overs as Praful plotted collapse of the team. Yeshwanth Gowda was the only batsman to cross double figure mark, scoring 14 runs off 16 balls, while five of the Karnataka batsmen got out for naught. Praful was the wrecker-in-chief, who captured 6 important wickets by conceding just 8 runs in his 3 overs, while Danish, Musaif Ajaz and Rayees Hamid claimed one wicket each.
In reply, J&K chased the target in just 7 overs, without losing a wicket, thus won the match by 10 wickets. Amir Shafi Shah top scored with unbeaten 25 runs off 19 balls, studded with 3 fours and one six, while Dikshant Kundal contributed 18 runs off 22 balls with 2 fours.
Late-on, in the quarterfinals, Delhi defeated J&K in a close contest by 7 wickets.
Batting first, J&K scored a fighting total of 93 runs in the stipulated 15 overs. Dikshant Kundal was the top scorer with 45 runs off 48 balls with the help of 4 crispy boundaries, while skipper Rayees Sidiq contributed 24 runs off 24 balls. For Delhi, Nitin Chaudhary took 2 wickets, while Vivek Yadav claimed one.
In reply, Delhi chased the target in 12 overs by losing 3 wickets to win the match by 7 wickets and storm into semifinals. Sumit Chikala was the top scorer with unbeaten 27 runs, while Shivam Bharadwaj and Akash contributed 22 runs each to the total. For J&K, Praful Dhar was the only successful and most economical bowler, who claimed one wicket by conceding 8 runs in 2 overs, while the other two Delhi batsmen ran themselves out.
This 5-day cricketing extravaganza, in which 23 teams drawn from various States and Union Territories of the Country are taking part, is being organized by the Government of Telangana, under the auspices of School Games Federation of India (SGFI).
The Jammu and Kashmir team is being accompanied by BCCI Level-1 coach Suresh Singh and former Ranji Trophy player, Imtiyaz Baba as manager and coach respectively and the team is participating in the Tournament under the banner of the Department of Youth Services and Sports, Government of Jammu and Kashmir.
J&K team: Rayees Sidiq, Musaif Ajaz, Praful Dhar, Amir Shafi Shah, Aditya Sharma, Dishant Kundal, Nikhil Partap, Mohd Wasid Khan, Sayed Ayoob, Gowhar Imtiyaz, Umar Farooq, Danish Hussain, Rayees Hamid Bhatt, Mujtaba, Marutuvan and Ayush Andotra.
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