Uttar Pradesh regain Cooch Behar Trophy
LUCKNOW: 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 first innings lead in Nagpur on Thursday.
It was double delight for Uttar Pradesh as their U-19 girls too had clinched the T20 Trophy at Guntur in November 2018.
A left-hand batsman from Meerut, Sameer stroked his first century of the season at the right moment. With a meagre first innings lead of 32 runs, Uttar Pradesh needed a 300-plus score to put pressure on Vidarbha 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 oneand-a-half sessions on the last day. In reply, Vidarbha finished their second innings on 53/1.
With the overnight score on 148/5, Sameer — batting on nine — started cautiously. But once settled, 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 Chavan off Yash Kadam in the 125th over of UP’S second innings. Sameer’s 54-run sixth-wicket partnership with overnight batsman Dhruv Chand Jurel (43, 85b, 6x4) and a 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 250 runs.
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. “It’s a great win. From the first match of the season, we were determined not to lose even a single game. I’m happy the boys could maintain this streak in the final,” UP coach Aamir said.
Brief scores: UP 283 & 305 (S Choudhary 119; H Dubey 4/97) vs Vidarbha 251 & 53/1 .