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PCA’s second Sher-e-Punjab T20 Cup garners success
BLV Blasters opening batter Harnoor Pannu made most of the Sher-e-Punjab T20 Cup outing; it turned out to be a perfect homecoming for Harnoor who played his U-14 and U-16 cricket for Punjab but shifted to UT Cricket Association in 2019 when the Chandigarh unit got the BCCI affiliation
The second season of the Sher-e-Punjab T20 Cup turned out to be a perfect start to the domestic season. The Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) organised T20 league witnessed thrilling matches having nail-biting finishes. The final between BLV Blasters and Trident Stallions turned out to be the most exciting game in the tournament with Naman Dhir-led Blasters taking the title for the second successive season under the floodlit IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali on June 27.
BLV Blasters opening batter Harnoor Pannu made most of the Sher-e-Punjab T20 Cup outing. The 21-year-old left-handed batter not only played a match-winning 52-ball knock of 83 runs to take his team to title triumph but also emerged as player of the tournament amassing 578 runs in 12 matches, hitting a whopping 33 sixes in the tournament that witnessed 33 matches in total.
It turned out to be a perfect homecoming for Harnoor who played his U-14 and U-16 cricket for Punjab but shifted to UT Cricket Association (UTCA) in 2019 when the Chandigarh unit got the BCCI affiliation. Part of the Indian U-19 team which won the Asia Cup first and then the U-19 World Cup in the West Indies in 2022, Harnoor moved to Punjab again in 2024 to resurrect his career which did not take off at UTCA. Making use of the platform provided by the PCA, he stole the limelight with his ruthless batting and also getting the Red Cap for maximum runs. Not only Harnoor, who was player of the tournament during U-19 Asia Cup in 2021, other batters like Karteek Sharma (457 runs), Abhay Choudhary (445 runs), Pukhraj Mann (334 runs) impressed with their batting talent. Experienced Mandeep Singh also hammered 349 runs playing for Agri King’s Knights.
In bowling, lanky right-arm fast bowler Gurnoor Brar showed his class and aggression with the ball. His 22 wickets in 11 matches playing for Trident Stallions spoke of his acumen with the ball. Interestingly, the top five highest wicket-takers in the tournament include four medium-pacers and one spinner, including Harpreet Brar who played a top-notch cameo of 19 runs off six balls to set up Blasters win in the final in the last over. Medium-pacer Aradhya Shukla, who was part of the India U-19 World Cup team in 2023, impressed with the ball taking 16 wickets for Blasters.
Blasters captain Naman Dhir lifted the winners’ trophy with the team winning ₹25 lakh while Stallions, the runners-up team, got ₹15 lakh. Former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh was there at the final to encourage the players and later was at the podium to give away the awards.
Six teams took part in the tournament which began on June 10. IPL star Abhishek Sharma led Agri King’s Knights and Trident Stallions was led by another IPL star Prabhsimran Singh. 24-year-old Naman Dhir, who hogged the limelight being in the Mumbai Indians team, captained BLV Blasters. Vishwanath Singh led Intersoft Titans, Anmolpreet Singh led Royal Phantoms, while Sanvir Singh captained the JK Super Strikers team. Vishwanath Singh led Intersoft Titans.
460 sixes and 868 fours were hit
It may be recalled that the first Sher-e-Punjab T20 Cup held in 2023 helped the Punjab senior men’s team prepare for the season and as a result were able to lift their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy. A national title came for Punjab after 30 years. It was back in 1993 when Punjab had lifted their first Ranji trophy title.
Praising the Punjab T20 Cup, PCA secretary Dilsher Khanna said, “The credit for making Sher-e-Punjab T20 Cup season-2 a success goes to the entire management, team owners, players, ground staff, etc. They started working hard before the tournament and they worked day and night throughout the tournament. This league will get bigger and better in the coming years, this will take Punjab cricket to a level that we can only imagine right now. Through this cup, junior players got exposure and seniors got an opportunity to move forward.”
