STATE TIMES NEWS
SRINAGAR: The much fan fared Night Cricket tournament being played in Gani Memorial Stadium, Rajouri Kadal Srinagar culminated with the grand final on Wednesday .
The tournament was organized by Gani Memorial Cricket Association in collaboration with J&K Sports Council.
The final match of the tournament was played between Makhdoomi-XI and Kashmir-XI.
Makhdoomi-XI after winning the toss elected to bowl, a decision which somewhat seemed to go well in their favour initially but it was the heroics of Abid Nabi who scored 68 runs to spoil their party. J&K’s former opener and flamboyant batter Adil Reshi also contributed 27 runs to the team total. Kashmir-XI piled up a huge task for their opponents scoring 191 with the loss of 6 wickets in their allotted quota of 20 overs. For Maqdoomi-XI, Sameer Bell and Rafiq Baba scalped 3 and 2 wickets respectively while other bowlers looked out of sorts.
In response Makhdoomi-XI fell like a pack of cards and none of their batters except Momin Sami and Sajad Ganai could offer any challenge to the tight line bowled by the opponents. Momin’s 62 runs and Sajad’s 26 was the only saving grace for the team which bundled at 137 runs.
For Maqdoomi-XI, Abid Nabi and wrist spinner Gowhar claimed 3 wickets each handing and helping the team lift the coveted Gani Memorial T-20 Cup by 54 runs.
The former ace cricketer of J&K Abid Nabi was awarded player of the match. He was also declared player of the series as well as best bowler of the tournament.
Winning team received a cash prize of rupees fifty thousand while as runner up were awarded rupees twenty five thousand.
Divisional Sports officer Nuzhat Farooq presided over the function as chief guest while as Maqsood Ahmad Deputy Manager; Gani Memorial Stadium was guest of honour on the occasion.
The Chief Guest distributed the prizes among the participants in the end and assured them of all the support from J&K Sports Council in future.
Many cricket buffs praised the J&K Sports Council’s special initiative ‘My Youth My Pride’ which they felt offers equal opportunity to all players to showcase their skills.