UP EVES SCRIPT HISTORY
LUCKNOW : Uttar Pradesh eves scripted a new chapter in the history of domestic cricket by winning the BCCI’s maiden under-19 Twenty20 trophy, defeating Andhra Pradesh by 18 runs, in Guntur on Saturday. After scoring 103/9 in 20 overs, UP bowlers, especially Sonal Yadav and Juhi Yadav who shared six wickets between them, got the rivals bundled out for 85 in 20 overs. BCCI has awarded the winners an award of ₹3 lakh.
LUCKNOW : For the last 21 days they have been like a family and a true example of unity, especially on the ground. On Saturday, they wanted to show their unity for one last time, and they did it in style.
Yes, bowlers Sonam Yadav and Juhi Yadav bagged three wickets each, whereas Rishika Yadav and Anjali Singh took two and one wicket, respectively to help Uttar Pradesh lay their hands on maiden trophy of Under-19 Women’s Twenty20 Trophy at Guntur, notching up a thrilling 18-run win against Andhra Pradesh in final.
It looked almost impossible for Uttar Pradesh to get the rivals out within the 100-run mark after they scored a meager 103/9 in 20 overs while batting first after winning the toss, at the JKC College Ground, but their bowlers did exactly what they were expected to do.
Sonam was lethal as she shattered Andhra Pradesh’s top batting order, then it was the turn of Juhi, who too mesmerized rival batswomen with her wrist spin. Rishika then came up with yet another magical bowling performance, and Anjali had the last laugh to see AP scoring 85 in 20 overs in yet another low-scoring game in the event.
E Padmaja, who scored 21 in 32 balls with the help of one four and six, remained the top scorer for the losers, who walked away with the runners-up purse of Rs 2 lakh.
Earlier, always-trusted Muskan Malik (21, 22b, 3x4) an Humaira Rais (25, 29b, 4x4) stitched together 38 runs for the opening wicket. The two stroked the ball nicely even though the wickets were falling on regular intervals from the other end.
“Even before the start of the final, I told the girls to put their best foot forward for the one last time and they did it in style,” UP’s coach Chitra Singh said on Saturday. “The best thing in our win was that we didn’t lose even a single match in all 11 outings, including final.”
Most of the girls come from a humble background and some of them don’t even have financial backing to but a quality bat or a pair of batting guards. “It’s like a dream come true for all of them as they had never imagined such a turnaround in their maiden attempt,” said Chitra, who believes that the win would certainly attract the attention of other girls towards the game. BRIEF SCORES
Uttar Pradesh 103/8 in 20 overs (M Malik 21, H Rais 25, F Naz 17, B Anusha 3/27, E Padmaja 3/14, S Gadwal 2/24) beat AP 85 in 20 overs (E Padmaja 21, R Yadav 2/13, S Yadav 3/8, A Singh 1/25, J Pandey 3/11).