Chandigarh, June 19
Star-studded Guru Nanak Public School Academy entered the semifinal by beating DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector 8, 'A' team by 70 runs in a quarterfinal match of the Hot Weather Cricket Tournament. The tournament is being organised by the Chandigarh sports department at the Sector 16 cricket stadium here.

DAVSSS-8 A won the toss and put GNPS Academy in to bat. Punjab Ranji player Uday Kaul (39, 5x4s, 29 balls) and Vishwas Bhalla (15) realised 39 runs before Bhalla was run out by Abhuinav Mittal. Bhalla hit one four and faced 16 balls.

Another Punjab Ranji player Gourav Gupta joined Kaul and they carried the total to 75 before Kaul returned to the pavilion caught by Pathania in the covers of the bowling of Gagan.

Newcomer Bipul Sharma and Gourav Gupta were associated in a 32-run stand for the third wicket. Gagan broke this partnership when he got Gourav stumped by Jaskaran at 107. Bipul Sharma and Karanveer took the total to 188 for 5 in 23.5 overs.

Bipul was run out after making a significant contribution of 66 in 49 balls. Gagan was the most successful bowler for DAVSSS-A.

Chasing a target of 189 for victory, DABSSS-8 A could muster only 118 for 8 in 25 overs. Jaskaran Malhotra (20), Shivam Pathania (26) and Rajiv Rishi (23) were their main scorers.

Naresh Gogian (2 for 27) and Siddharath Kaul (2 for 9) were the most successful bowlers for GNPS Academy.

Brief scores:

Guru Nanak Public School Academy-36: 188 for 5 in 23.5 overs (Uday Kaul 38, Vishwas Bhalla 15, Gourav Gupta 23, Bipul Sharma 66, 8x4s, 1x6, Karanveer not out 27; Gagan 2 for 29, Anirudh 1 for 38).

DAVSSS-8 A: 118 for 8 in 25 overs (Jaskaran 20, Shivam Pathania 26, Rajiv Rishi 23, Sunny Behl 11, Kamal 10; Naresh Gogian 2 for 27, Siddharth Kaul 2 for 9, Akashdeep 1 for 28, Gourav 1 for 1, Anil Siyag 1 for 14, Karanveer 1 for 21).

GNPS Academy win by 70 runs.

Tomorrow's fixture (QF): Sector 16 Cricket Stadium vs High Court at 2.30 pm.

Chandigarh, June 19
Black Elephants (MES), Patiala, and MCM (Blue Caps), Chandigarh, will clash in the final match of the u-12 Edmund Rice Challenger Trophy, being played at St. John's High School, Sector 26.

In the first semi-final match played today, MCM defeated ERCA by 9 wickets. Batting first, ERCA made 72 runs for loss of 8 wickets in 25 overs. MCM’s Sechit took two wickets in just 5 runs. In reply, MCM achieved the target in just 16 overs for the loss of just 1 wicket.

In the second match played between Tajli Sports Complex, Yamunanagar, and MES, Patiala, the latter won with a huge margin of 93 runs. 

Chandigarh, June 19
The South Western Air Command (SWAC) team entered the semifinals defeating Central Air Command (CAC) 1-0 on the second day of league matches of the Air Force Hockey Championship. The championship is being played at the Sector 42 Hockey Stadium, here.

Both the teams made a couple of good attempts but failed to score a goal till the 70th minute.

The second match between Western Air Command (WAC) and Southern Air Command (SAC) saw a glut of goals. The players of Western Air Command outnumbered the latter, winning the match by 16-0.

Devesh scored a hat trick during the 10th, 15th and 27th minutes while Keshwan scored three goals in the 5th, 40th and 41st minute. B. Singh, Shankar and S. Singh scored two goals each.

In the subsequent matches, Training Command (TC) defeated Air HQ 4-0. In the process, Sameer scored 2 goals and Nadeem and Basheer scored 1 goal each.

In the final match of the day, Maintenance Command (MC) beat Eastern Air Command by 2-1. Kaushik and Dinesh of MC scored 1 goal each for the winners’ side. 

Chandigarh, June 19
This cricket academy is a boon for budding players, especially for those with limited resources.

At this academy in Government Senior Secondary School, Sector 19, over 75 young cricketers in the age group of 7 to 25 have been honing their skills without spending even a single penny.

“It was a dream come true when I got a new bat from here free of cost,” said eight-year-old Ajit Kumar, son of a gardener at the school.

Many players, who got training here, have made it to first class cricket. “The training is being supervised by professional coach Rajiv Nayyer and other experts,” said Surinder Singh Baijee, general secretary of the CCA.