Rahul Sharma led the squad in scoring with 55 runs as Punjab was bowled out for 156 runs in their second innings.
Tuesday’s final of the Second Balramji Das Tandon Memorial Inter-State U-16 Cricket Tournament, which was held by the Union Territory Cricket Association under the auspices of the BCCI, saw Haryana defeat Punjab by an innings and 16 runs thanks to four-wicket hauls from Aditya Sharma (4 for 42) and Parish Dhillon (4 for 42) in one inning.
Rahul Sharma led the squad in scoring with 55 runs as Punjab was bowled out for 156 runs in their second innings. Aditya Sharma collected four wickets for Haryana, while Parish Dhillon also claimed four for the team. Prior to it, Haryana had scored 266 runs in the first inning, while Punjab had scored 94 runs.
Jai Ram Thakur, the chief minister of Himachal Pradesh, Dharam Pal, the chairman of the BCCI selection committee, and Chetan Sharma, a former Indian pacer, later presented awards to the winners. According to Sanjay Tandon, president of the UTCA, the competition will eventually become a national event for all of India. “My late father Balramdas Ji Tandon constantly encouraged sports in the city and the surrounding area. Teams from Chandigarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, and Delhi participated in the competition this year. In the next years, we intend to expand it to include all of India,” Tandon stated.
Chetan Sharma, a former Indian pacer and current head of the BCCI selection committee, also praised the young athletes. “U-16 and U-19 level junior competitions are fantastic venues to discover the outstanding potential available in a nation like India. It’s encouraging to see northern teams competing in this competition. A strong showing here would undoubtedly inspire them much, Sharma said.
Punjab’s Rahul Kumar, who scored 315 runs throughout the competition, was named the best batter after taking 13 wickets, while Jai Kaushik of Haryana was named the best bowler. UTCA’s Shaswatam, who scored 235 runs, and had four catches, three stumpings, and four catches, was named the best all-around player.