In a thrilling finale of the Shaheed Nirmal Mahato Memorial Under-12 Cricket Tournament held today, JCA Yellow emerged victorious over Leo Cricket Academy, clinching the championship by a narrow margin of one wicket.
The decisive match took place at the Nirmal Mahato Stadium in Kadma. After winning the toss, Leo Cricket Academy opted to bat first but struggled against a disciplined JCA Yellow bowling attack. They managed to post a total of 112 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in their allotted 20 overs. Key contributions came from Hari with 22 runs and Virat Singh with 19 runs, while Raunak Kumar was the standout bowler for JCA Yellow, claiming 4 wickets.
In response, JCA Yellow faced a challenging chase but successfully reached the target, scoring 113 for 9 in 19.3 overs. Abhinav Jha played a crucial innings with 41 runs, supported by Raunak Kumar who added 18 runs to his earlier bowling exploits. Hari and Ayush from Leo Cricket Academy each took 2 wickets, keeping the match intensely competitive till the end.
Raunak Kumar's all-around performance, with 4 wickets and 18 runs, earned him the Man of the Match award.
The match was attended by several notable figures, including JSCA school and club representative D. Uma Rao, former Ranji player Bhaskar Roy, JCA administrator D. Mukherjee (Nathu Sir), JSCA fitness trainer Surendra Sharma, and former Ranji player Madhusudan Tantubai.
Administrator Nathu Sir announced that the prize distribution ceremony will take place on June 25, coinciding with Sudhir Mahato's birthday. Dignitaries such as Ichagarh MLA Savita Mahato, former JSCA secretary Dr. Dinesh Upadhyay, and Rajiv Mahato (Kablu) are expected to grace the event.
