UPCA to play hosts of U-23 knock-out ties
UP Cricket Association will play hosts of the knock-out matches of the first-ever one-day tournament of men under-23 introduced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India for 2017-18 season.
In all nine matches, including two pre-quarterfinals, four quarterfinals, two semi-finals and one final would be conducted by the UPCA from February 4 to 11, but the venue is yet to be finalized. The zonal leagues of the maiden tournament would be played from January 21 to 29.
“It’s UPCA’s prerogatives to conduct the matches either at Lucknow, Kanpur or Noida. A final decision to this effect would only be taken when the stake holders (UPCA’s units) meet during the annual general meeting at Kanpur next month,” an UPCA official told HT on condition of anonymity.
With the return of the homeand-away format system in the Ranji Trophy, Suresh Raina and Co would be playing their three matches on home turf out of total six matches in the Group A, which comprises Karnataka, Delhi, Assam, Maharashtra, Hyderabad and Railways. So far Kanpur has been mentioned as the venues for all three home matches, but Lucknow and Noida are expected to be the stake holders for the two matches. With an aim to start a fresh this time, former champions UP would begin their campaign against Railways from October 6 to 9 in Kanpur, before playing against Hyderabad at Hyderabad from October 14 to 17 in their next tie. UP would again be hosting Maharashtra at Kanpur from October 24 to 27, before locking horns with star-studded Delhi at Delhi from November 1 to 4. To play against Assam Raina and Co would be travelling to Guwahati for the November 9 to 12 encounter before playing their last league match against yet another former champions Karnataka at Kanpur from November 17 to 20.
The quarter-finals of the Ranji Trophy are scheduled to be held from December 7 to 11, while the semi-finals will take place from December 17 to 21. The final will be held from December 29 to January 2. The zonal leagues of the Syed Mushatq Ali Trophy Twenty20 Tournament will be played from January 21 to 29, whereas the Vijay Hazare Trophy Inter-State league is slated to be held from February 16 to 25 in Himachal Pradesh. UP meet Delhi on February 16 in their Group B match, followed by vs Maharashtra on February 17, vs Bengal on February 19 and vs hosts Himachal Pradesh on February 20. The Duleep Trophy has been scrapped from the 2017-18
domestic calendar UP’S OTHER FIXTURES Junior men (u-19 zonal
league): UP vs Jharkhand at Jharkhand (Oct 8-11); UP vs Chhattisgarh at Raipur (Oct 15-18); UP vs Odisha at Cuttack (Oct 26-29); UP vs MPCA at Indore (Nov 3-6); UP vs Hyderabad at Hyderabad (Nov 11-14).
Cooch Behar Trophy: UP vs Himachal Pradesh at Himachal Pradesh (Nov 14-17); UP vs Vidarbha at Nagpur (Nov 22-25); UP vs Hyderabad at Hyderabad (Nov 30-Dec 3): UP vs J&K at Kanpur (Dec 17-20); UP vs Tripure at Kanpur (Dec 25-28); UP vs A&A at Kanpur (Jan 2-5).
Under-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy zonal leagues to be played from December 1 to 27.
Women’s u-19 T20 zonal leagues to be played at Agartala from February 1 to 6.
Women’s u-23 inter-state one-day tournament at Baroda from March 9 to 13.
Senior women inter-zonal league to be played from March 18 to April 5.
Senior women one-day tournament at Baroda: UP vs Maharashtra (Dec 8); UP vs Mumbai (Dec 10); UP vs Baroda (Dec 12); UP vs Delhi (Dec 14). Senior women Twenty20 tournament at Goa: UP vs Goa (Jan 13); UP vs Bengal (Jan 14); UP vs MPCA (Jan 15): UP vs Baroda (Jan 16).