The golden rule is -- never change a winning combination. And
when the combination is cruising along, it is almost a sin to change it.
However, in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) precincts, these
rules can be bent. Ahead of Delhi U-19’s final one-day match at Jhajjar, three
players were sent as re-inforcements to join the Delhi team which had won all
its previous three matches, all of them against the Zone’s top teams and was already
on the verge of becoming zonal champions and qualifying for the knockouts to be
played in Ahmedabad next month. In fact, the think-tank decided to send three
players for the final match against a weak Jammu & Kashmir side.
No one seemed to have a clue, however, of why it was being
done. The convenor of the BCCI junior tournament committee, Manveer Singh Bhatia said he had
no idea why the players were sent. The poor kids didn’t even get to play and it
was a futile exercise.
The three boys drafted in for the last game were: Abhishek
Pradhan, Viren Singh and Aakash Yadav.
However, leaving the controversy bit aside, the Delhi U-19
team continued their rampaging run and thrashed J&K by five wickets to top
the Zone and advance to the knockouts of Vinoo Mankad Trophy. Sumit Mathur took
five for 30 in the final game to help Delhi win. Pratyush Singh and Himmat
Singh scored as well like they did earlier.
Brief Scores: J&K 179 in 49.1 overs (S Khajuria 83, S
Mathur 5/30) lost to Delhi 180/5 in 46.2 overs (Pratyush 58, Himmat 45)
Previous games (a quick recap)
October 21
Match 1: J&K beat
Himachal Pradesh Opener SP Khajuria scored 103* while Abrar Farooq took
2/29 as Jammu and Kashmir shocked Himachal Pradesh by six wickets in the first
match of the U-19 domestic one-dayers for Vinoo Mankad Trophy.
Match 2: Haryana beat
Punjab In a low-scoring match played at Lahli, Haryana beat Punjab by two
wickets. Punjab were all out for 145 in 44.2 overs while Haryana chased it in
46.2 overs. HJ Rana took 3/15.
October 22
Match 3: Delhi beat
Punjab In another low-scoring match at Jhajjar where run-making was not
that easy Delhi triumphed over Punjab by 4 runs. Himmat Singh top-scored with
62. Delhi made 217 all out in their 50 overs and restricted Punjab at 213/9 to
seal the win. It was a closely-fought match that hung in balance till the
latter half of the Punjab innings. Delhi showed nerves to stop them just short
of their total.
Match 4: J&K beat
Haryana Jammu and Kashmir beat Haryana Colts by 32 runs at Lahli. SP
Khajuria top-scored for J&K with 72 runs while Lone Nasir, RK Sharma, AM
Mangnoo took three wickets each.
‘October 24
Match 5: Punjab beat
J&K Punjab beat Jammu and Kashmir by 50 runs at the Teri Oval in
Gurgaon. NS Chaudhary scored 90 as Punjab made 259/9 in 50 overs. Then Anmolpreet and AG Pannu took four wickets
each to dismiss J&K for 209.
Match 6: Himachal beat
Delhi Delhi beat Himachal Pradesh by four wickets in Jhajjar. Himachal made
156 as Abhishek Vats took 5 wickets. Delhi romped home in 36.1 overs with
Sarthak Ranjan hitting 60.
October 26
Match 7: Delhi beat
Haryana Delhi thrashed Haryana by nine wickets at Jhajjar. After Sumit
Mathur’s 4/60 helped Delhi dismiss Haryana for 229 in 48 overs, openers Sarthak
Ranjan (108*) and Hiten Dalal (93) helped Delhi reach home in 43.1 overs.
Match 8: Punjab beat
Himachal Punjab edged out Haryana by three wickets in a low-scoring
encounter by three wickets. Haryana made 112 while Punjab surpassed the target
in 37.1 overs losing just three wickets.
October 28
Match 9: Haryana beat
Himachal Haryana beat Himachal by 37 runs at Teri Oval in Gurgaon. LS Kumar
scored 71 for Haryana who were all out for 264 in 49.4 overs. Himachal replied
with 227.
Match 10: Already described above.
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