Jalandhar XI lost a crucial toss at Hara Cricket Academy Ground on Saturday but managed to win the game against Amandeep Cricket Club, Amritsar, and enter the finals of the Trident Cup T-20 cricket tournament.
The game at both venues was delayed due to heavy fog and started at 12.45 pm. Jalandhar XI batted first and was in trouble after losing wickets early and at one stage were 25/3 in 6.3 overs. Fighting knocks by Abhishek Bajaj (28 off 33 balls), Arun Kalia (21 off 20 balls), and a late cameo of 26 runs off 18 balls by Prerit Dutta helped their team finish at 130 for 8 wickets in 20 overs. For Amritsar, Sumit Sharma took 2 wickets giving away 24 runs, captain Vinay Chaudhary took 2 for 25, and Satnam Singh 2 for 29.
Amandeep cricket Club, Amritsar, were put under pressure early, losing wickets at regular intervals and were 21 for 4 in 5 overs. However, a gritty knock of 54 off 49 balls studded with 5 fours and 2 sixes by Sumit Sharma and 26 off 24 balls by Satnam Singh helped them recover, taking the team to 118 for 9 in 19 overs, requiring 13 runs off the last over to win the game. But unfortunately, they were all out for 119 runs in 19.4 overs. Jalandhar XI won the game by 11 runs. Harit Sacher bowled a spell of 4-0-33-3, Arun Kalia 2.4-0-10-3, and Prerit Dutta 4-0-19-1.
Earlier in the day, IG police Ludhiana, Yurinder Singh Hayer had inaugurated the game. Rakesh Agrawal, the commissioner of police, Ludhiana, was also present. Former Indian cricketer Ajay Sharma presented the man of the match award to Arun Kalia of Jalandhar XI.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier in the day, IG police Ludhiana, Yurinder Singh Hayer had inaugurated the game. Rakesh Agrawal, the commissioner of police, Ludhiana, was also present. Former Indian cricketer Ajay Sharma presented the man of the match award to Arun Kalia of Jalandhar XI.
{{/usCountry}}PUNJAB REDS ENTER FINAL
In the second semi-final played at GRD Academy ground, Punjab Blues won the toss and decided to field first. Punjab Reds lost two wickets early but a third-wicket partnership of 65 runs between captain Mandeep Singh (43 off 29 balls, 7 fours) and Gurkeerat Mann (68 off 40 balls, 5 fours, and 3 sixes) and a fourth-wicket partnership of 110 runs between Gurkeerat Mann and Anmolpreet Singh, who remained not out on 63 runs off 30 balls (4 fours and 5 sixes) helped Punjab Reds post a formidable total of 206 for 4 in 20 overs. For Punjab Blues, Baltej Singh and Karan Kaila bowled economical spells of 4-0-22-0 and 4-0-29-0, respectively. Indian player Barinder Sran got 2 wickets but was expensive (3-0-43-2).
In response, Punjab Blues kept losing wickets at regular intervals and finished at 132 for 9 in 20 overs, thus losing the game by 74 runs. Anmol Malhotra scored 26 off 25 balls, and Ikjot Thind 21 off 23 balls. Indian players Sandeep Sharma (4-0-18-3), Siddharth Kaul (4-0-23-2), and Mayank Markande (4-0-18-3) won the game for their team.
Anmolpreet Singh won the man of the match award.