Mohali lads Punjab champs

Mohali lads defeated Ropar by seven wickets to win the four-day final of the Punjab State Inter-District Under-16 Tournament at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh PCA New Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur.

Ropar won the toss and elected to bat first. They were all out at 223 in 63.5 overs. Prabhsimar Singh posted 124 off 176 balls, with 20 boundaries, while Tikshan Bhalla remained unbeaten at 40 off 43 balls, with four boundaries. Both were the main run getters for Ropar.

Abhishek Rajput (3/79), Shivam Matri (2/48) and Virat Varma (2/28) were the main wicket-takers for the bowling side. In reply, Mohali scored 415 before getting all out in 178.2 overs in their first innings with a lead of 192 runs. Akshat Gagneja (109), Ayaan Srivastava (85), Anhad Singh (69), Abhishek Rajput (58) and Pulkit Rana (53) were the main scorers.

Yuvraj Singh (3/94) was the main wicket-taker for the bowling side, while Harman (2/65), Rajveer Singh (2/73) and Jaskirat Singh (2/98) were the other successful bowlers.

In the second innings, Ropar scored 308 for all in 87.4 overs and set a target of 117 runs for Mohali. Prabhsimar Singh again came up with a stunning 184 runs, while Jaskirat Singh (52) along with Rajveer Singh (21) and Akshay Sharma (21) also scored for the side.

Abhishek Rajput picked a fifer for 83, while Jovan Deep picked 2/48. Mohali chased the target and scored 121 for the loss of one wicket in 27.3 overs.

Abhishek Mookherjee, deputy chief executive officer, (PCA), presented the winners Rs 2-lakh award. The runners-up got Rs 1 lakh.