Two more Minerva footballers in India U-23 squad

Minerva Punjab FC players Anirudh Thapa and Davinder Singh have been called to join India U-23 squad for the AFC Championship qualifiers schedule to be held later this month.  Earlier, seven players of the city-based club were inducted into the probable squad. Anirudh and Davinder will join the squad in New Delhi prior to its departure for an exposure tour to Singapore, the club said on Monday. Kamalpreet Singh, Kamaljit Singh, Germanpreet Singh, Manvir Singh, Sukhdev Patil, Vinit Rai and Girik Khosla had received the call to join the squad in May. Anirudh turned heads with his performance for the club in its I-League debut, while Davinder is a product of Dalbir Football Academy and has been part of Minerva’s second division league team since 2016.     

Livewire register 48-run victory over Anmol Club

Hosts Livewire Coaching Centre (LWCC) beat Anmol Club, Mohali, by 48 runs at Divya Public School 44, on Monday. Batting first, AR Luthra (25) and Harvinder Singh Nain (77) laid a solid foundation for LWCC with an opening wicket stand of 106 runs. However, the side lost wickets at regular intervals thereafter to end their innings at 147/7 in the stipulated 20 overs. Vikram claimed 3/18, while Nikhil, Vivek and Himank shared a wicket apiece. In reply, Anmol Club were bowled out for just 81 runs in 17.5 overs with Pankaj leading the LWCC attack with a match haul of 4/5. Kartik, Abhishek and Shashank bagged two wickets each. Himank (34) was the top scorer for Anmol Club. Harvinder Singh and Pankaj shared the man of the trophy.

All-round Idant helps Dikshant to five-wicket win

An all-round performance by Idant Dikshit enabled Dikshant XI beat PLAY XI by 5 wickets in the U-11 cricket match played at St. Soldier’s School grounds on Monday. Batting first, Play XI scored below par 99/8 in 20 overs as Idant led Dikshant XI attack made regular intrusions into their batting line-up. Idant claimed 3/10, while Raaj Kapoor (21) was the top scorer for PLAY XI.  In reply, Dikshant XI reached the target in 17.5 overs with five wickets to spare; Idant contributing, this time, with the bat. The all-rounder scored an unbeaten 38, while Ritvik added 30 runs to the chase.