BAJALTA: Nagrota Youngstar Eagles on Sunday lifted the first Maruti Suzuki Nagrota Premier League Trophy by defeating Chak Rakwal in final of the tournament played in sprawling playfield in the scenic ambience here.
Congratulating the winners over their magnificent win, National Conference President and former Union Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah described the tournament as a landmark step towards promoting cricket by providing logistic support and a huge platform to budding cricketers of Nagrota Assembly Constituency.
Holding and sustaining such a long-duration event in itself is a great contribution for promotion of the gentleman’s game and MLA Nagrota Devender Singh Rana deserves kudos for his innovative step and organisational skills, Dr Abdullah said, hoping this will become an annual feature.
He said cricket holds promise for youngsters and the day is not far when Bajalta playfield will produce stars in the game, which will bring laurels to the State and the country.
Dr Abdullah exhorted young players to concentrate on the game and specialise in disciplines like batting and bowling, which will put them in good stead to face the competitive world confidently.
While giving away winners and runners up trophies besides awards to all those who contributed in the successful event, Dr Abdullah announced cash prize of Rs 10,000 for Man of the Match Rajeshwar. He said sports forge bonds and help in building camaraderie between players, which is imperative for success of the events of such magnitude.
Earlier, winning the toss, Chak Rakwala Leopards elected to bat first and scored 113 runs for the loss of six wickets in prescribed 20 overs. Youdhveer scored 24, followed by Shamsher 23 runs.
Chasing the target, Nagrota Young Star Eagles managed to score 114 runs in 15.1 overs after losing one wicket only. Rajeshwar scored 53 runs and remained not out while Lucky scored 41 runs and too remained not out. For his unbeaten innings, Rajeshwar was declared Man of the Match and was awarded with Rs 10,000 and a Trophy.
The winner, Nagrota Young Star Eagles was presented a cheque of Rs. 1 lakh and a Cup while runner up team, Chak Rakwala Leopards was presented with a Cup and cheque of Rs. 50,000.
The finale was officiated by Saleem-ur- Rehman and Sadiq Hussain from J and K Youth Services and Sports. The matches were played under the overall supervision of Faheem Tak, Vice President Take-1 Channel and Member Organising Committee. Umpires, Saleem-ur-Rehman, Sadiq Hussain, Pankaj Sasan, Suresh Singh, Madan Mohan from Youth Services and Sports were also given trophies.
Besides Provincial President National Conference and MLA Nagrota Devender Singh Rana, the final was witnessed by Hemanshu Asoopa, Area Manager Maruti Suzuki India limited, Mayank Garg, Territory Sales Manager, Rural Marketing, Maruti Suzuki India Limited.
Dwelling upon the tournament, Devender Singh Rana said the tournament was organised with an avowed objective of identifying talent and providing them opportunities to perform, first at a limited scale and then in various events at the State and the national level.
He said the Maruti Suzuki Nagrota Premier League is continuation of his efforts to give fillip to various activities in the constituency, which has huge potential in various spheres like tourism and sports. In all, 65 teams of 43 Panchayats of the Nagrota Assembly Constituency have participated in the tournament.