UP win Cooch Behar Trophy
Young Sameer Choudhary slams a sparkling ton as UP win on the basis of first innings lead; team get Rs 20 lakh
LUCKNOW : Former champions Uttar Pradesh on Thursday defeated hosts and defending champions Vidarbha on the basis of 32-run first innings lead to lift the coveted Under-19 Cooch Behar Trophy at Nagpur for a record seventh time. UP Cricket Association announced ₹20 lakh for the winning team, besides announcing prize money of ₹10 lakh for the Under-19 women’s team, which had won the BCCI’s Twenty20 Trophy recently at Guntur.
LUCKNOW: Young Sameer Choudhary slammed a sparkling century to help former champions Uttar Pradesh regain the prestigious Under-19 Cooch Behar Trophy, defeating hosts and defending champions Vidarbha on the basis of firstinnings lead in Nagpur on Thursday.
It was double delight for Uttar Pradesh cricket as their Under-19 girls too had clinched the Twenty20 Trophy at Guntur in November last.
A left-hand batsman from Meerut, Sameer stroked his first century of the season at the right moment. With a meagre lead of 32 runs in the first innings, Uttar Pradesh needed a 300-plus score to put pressure on Vidarbha’s batting on the fourth and final day.
Sameer, who had toured Sri Lanka with the India U-19 squad last year for a one-day series, played patiently, scoring a 248ball 119 with the help 18 boundaries and three sixes.
He helped Uttar Pradesh score 305 in the second innings, setting a 337-run target for Vidarbha to win in one-and-a-half sessions on the last day. In reply, Vidarbha finished their second innings on 53 for 1.
With the overnight score reading 148/5, Sameer --- batting on nine --- started cautiously. But once he had settled down, he started stroking the ball with consummate ease around the VCA Stadium.
Vidarbha employed eight bowlers to dent Sameer’s confidence but he remained defiant. Vidarbha finally got their prized wicket when he was caught by Nayan R Chavan off Yash Kadam in the 125th over of UP’s second innings.
Sameer’s 54-run sixth-wicket partnership with the other overnight batsman Dhruv Chand Jurel (43, 85b, 6x4) and another 79-run ninth-wicket stand with Mohit Jangra (12, 77b, 2x4) made the difference for UP, who at one stage looked they wouldn’t even cross the 250-run mark.
Harsh Dubey, who took two wickets in the first innings, finished with 4/97 in the second, while Nachiket Bhute and Yash Kadam shared four wickets between them.
The win reminded one of the 2015 triumph when UP had chased down 444 runs in the second innings against the mighty Mumbai with Shivam Choudhary (121), Madhav Kaushik (136) and Rinku Singh (130) helping the side notch up a threewicket victory.
“It’s a great win. From the very first match of the season, we were determined not to lose even a single game and I am happy that the boys could maintain this streak in the final,” UP coach Aamir said on Thursday.
“Last time, Vidarbha had both the Ranji and Cooch Behar trophies, and after retaining the Ranji Trophy this year, they were aiming for a repeat in Under-19. But my boys had other ideas,” he added. SCORECARD
UP (1st innings): 283. Vidarbha (1st innings): 251.
UP (2nd innings): Aryan Sharma c BK Naidu b Tekan 52, Aryan Juyal c Yash Kadam b Harsh Dubey 13, Ansh Yadav lbw Bhute 33, Sameer Rizvi c BK Naidu b Bhute 5, Priyam Garg b Harsh Dubey 1, Dhruv Chand Jurel b Harsh Dubey 43, Sameer Choudhary c Nayan R Chavan b Yash Kadam 119, Purnank Tyagi c Yash Kadam b Prerit Agrawal 6, Kartik Tyagi lbw Harsh Dubey 2, Mohit Jangra lbw Yash Kadam 12, Shivam Sharma not out 8. Extras (nb1, w2, b3, lb5) 11. Total (all out; 124.2 overs) 305.
Fall of wickets: 1-17, 2-94, 3-104, 4-105, 5-117, 6-171, 7-194, 8-201, 9-280, 10-305.
Bowling: Tekan 16-4-31-1, Bhute 16-1-48-2, Harsh Dubey 43-12-97-4, Rohit Dattatraya 22-759-0, Prerit Agrawal 7-2-23-1, Yash Kadam 9.2-4-14-2, Mandar Mahale 7-3-13-0, Nayan R Chavan 4-0-12-0. Vidarbha (2nd innings):
Mandar Mahale not out 17, BK Naidu c Dhruv Chand Jurel b Kartik Tyagi 0, A Mokhade not out 36. Total (1 wkt, 15 overs) 53. Fall of wickets: 1-1. Bowling: Kartik Tyagi 3-021-1, Mohit Jangra 2-0-8-0, Shivam Sharma 3-0-8-0, Sameer Choudhary 2-0-2-0, Aryan Sharma 2-1-3-0, Sameer Rizvi 1-06-0, Ansh Yadav 1-0-1-0, Aryan Juyal 1-0-4-0.
IT WAS DOUBLE DELIGHT FOR UTTAR PRADESH CRICKET AS THEIR UNDER-19 GIRLS TOO HAD CLINCHED THE TWENTY20 TROPHY AT GUNTUR IN NOVEMBER LAST