Kanpur: Khandekar Cricket Academy drubbed Diamond Club by 13 runs and won the Ajay Sharma Memorial T-20 Cricket Tournament and securing a Rs 51,000 at the Kanpur South ground on Saturday. The runner-up, Diamond Club, had to content itself with a cash prize of Rs 31,000.
Electing to bat first, Khandekar Academy amassed a total of 155 runs. Opener Mujammil top-scored with a scintillating 47 runs. For Diamond Club, Suvrat Tiwari emerged as the pick of the bowlers, snaring 3 wickets for a miserly 18 runs. In response, they managed to restrict Diamond Club's innings at 142 runs. The opening duo of Sachin Tiwari (55) and Devansh Pathak (31) provided them with a promising start, but once they were dismissed, the remaining batsmen failed to capitalize on the solid foundation. Balram Yadav contributed 32 runs off 42 deliveries. For Khandekar Academy, Aditya Chitrane and Ishan Khanna claimed 3 and 2 wickets, respectively.
Chief guest Sanjay Kapoor, chairman of KCA, and Anurag Kapoor presented the cash prizes and trophies to the victorious and runner-up teams.
Brief score: Khandekar Academy - 9 for 155 (Abhay Kumar 22, Mujammil 47, Harshit Singh 15, Almas Shaukat 22, Himanshu Pratjapti 18, Dipanshu Singh 15, Akhil Kumar 1 for 25, Suvrat Tiwari 3 for 18, Eklavya Katiyar 1 for 28, Divyansh Pathak 1 for 19)
Diamond Club - 7 for 142 (Sachin Tiwari 55, Devansh Pathak 31, Balram Yadav 32, Dipanshu Singh 1 for 25, Himanshu Singh 1 for 25, Aditya Chitrane 3 for 26, Ishan Khanna 2 for 15)
Cricketers banned: The Kanpur Cricket Association (KCA) imposed a ban on 6 cricketers for participating in unaffiliated cricket tournaments in the city on Saturday. The six banned players are Rahul Tiwari (PAC), Tribhuvan Dixit (Bharat), Kamran Ali (Paramount), Dharmendra Yadav (YMCC), Amit Gaur (County), and Ravi Sonkar-Charu (Kanpur Cricketers). According to Kaushal Kumar Singh, secretary of KCA, all banned players are prohibited from participating in the KDMA league as well as knockout tournaments organized by the KCA.
Singh stated that the KCA had banned around 100 cricketers. Despite repeated warnings, they participated in unaffiliated tournaments, leading to their suspension from official cricket events.