Rockers, Tigers to clash in IJPL final

dubai — Dehradun Rockers will meet Punjab Tigers in the final of the inaugural edition of the path-breaking Indian Junior Premier League Talent Hunt at Dubai’s International Cricket Stadium on Friday.

Living up to the vision of IJPL Talent Hunt which seeks to unearth cricket talent from small towns and cities across India, Dehradun Rockers won the battles of nerves against fancied Hyderabad Hawks, clinching the first semifinal by 12 runs.

In the other high-voltage semifinal, Punjab Tigers kept Rajasthan Roarers at bay, winning by four wickets to set up the summit clash with Dehradun Rockers.

The first semifinal clash witnessed quite a few landmarks in the IJPL. Dehradun Rockers skipper Uvais Ahmed led by example scoring 92 runs off just 50 balls, which included 6 sixes and 9 fours.

The Dehradun Rockers skipper was dropped on two occasions by Fahad Nawaz and Dinesh at the score of 31 and 59 respectively but it doesn’t take away any sheen from his brilliant and selfless knock.

For Hyderabad, their reliable all-rounder Fahad Nawaz bagged two wickets for 24 runs, Sai Vihari grabbed two for 37 while NY Ruth took a couple for 29 runs.

Set a big target, Hyderabad Hawks choked under pressure, coming from a previous game where they had managed to scrape through in the Super Over against Ranchi Boosters on Wednesday.

While Vikas Murki held the innings together for some time with an impressive 69 runs off 50 balls, the rest of his teammates looked out of sorts for a grueling battle and suddenly lost their way and were reduced to 154 for seven wickets in 20 overs.

Brief scores