Jammu, Mar 7: The Jammu and Kashmir Youth Service & Sports (YSS) and J&K Sports Council (JKSC) Cricket Premier League has kick-started at MA stadium Jammu drawing participation of around 18 teams.
The league was inaugurated by the minister for Youth Service and Sports Satish Sharma on Friday.
In the first match of YSS-JKSC Cricket Premier League on Saturday at M A Stadium here, Jammu Sultans defeated Rajouri Leopards by seven runs.
Batting first, Jammu Sultans scored 125 runs all out in the allotted 18 overs with wicketkeeper batsman Anshul top scoring with 45 runs.
For Rajouri Leopards Piyush Sharma and Ishtiyak Rasool took three wickets apiece in their quota of four overs.
In return Rajouri Leopards scored 118 for the loss of nine wickets, falling short of the target by eight runs.
For Rajouri Leopards, skipper Bilal Ahmed scored 62 runs while ‘Player of the Match’ Akash took four wickets and Gourav Koul took three wickets in their allotted quota of four overs.
The second match of the day was played between Jammu Wolves and Samba Jets.
Batting first Jammu Wolves scored 119 for the loss of nine wickets in their allotted 17 overs. Majid Hussain was the top scorer 31 runs in his credit while Rahil Sambyal took three wickets.
While chasing the target, Samba Jets finished the match in just 11 overs while losing four wickets. The tream scored 122 runs for the loss four wickets.
Sambyal followed up his bowling performance with the bat and scored 44 runs while Romi scored 43 runs for the Samba Jets.
Imran and skipper Rahul Mulan took two wickets each for the Jammu Wolves.
The third match of the day was played between Jammu Tigers and Samba Jets.
Jammu Tigers defeated Samba Jets by 23 runs. Batting first Jammu Tigers scored 167 for the loss of six wickets in their alloted 17 overs with Paras Sharma rop scoring with 54 runs while Chotu Sharma took three wickets for Samba Jets.
In return, Samba Jets were only able to score 144 for the loss of nine wickets in the allotted 17 overs with Rahil Sambyal scored 61 runs and Chotu Sharma rounding of his all-round performance with 52 runs.
Yogesh Sikka and Ishu took 2 wickets each for Jammu Tigers.
Earlier in the inaugural match of the tournament played on Friday, Jammu Tigers defeated Jammu Wolves by six wickets.
Batting first Jammu Wolves scored 136 for the loss of nine wickets in the allotted 20 overs.
Ankush Bandral scored 35 runs while Anchal Singh, Paras Sharma, and Jaddu took two wickets each.
While chasing the target, Jammu Tigers scored 137 runs for the loss of four wickets and won the match six wickets.
For Jammu Tigers, Akash Choudhary was the top scorer with 71 runs while Kulwinder Singh took two wickets for Jammu Wolves.
The YSS-JKSC Cricket Premier League is being organised by the J&K Sports Council under the aegis of the Department of Youth Services and Sports, J&K.
The tournament was formally inaugurated on Friday by minister for YSS Satish Sharma, who unveiled the trophy along with India cricketer and former J&K captain Parvez Rasool and distributed jerseys among the participating teams as well.
Secretary J&K Sports Council Nuzhat Gul and other senior officials were also present on the occasion.
Eighteen teams are competing in the league, which carries a prize purse of Rs 3 lakh for the winners and Rs 1.5 lakh for the runners-up.
Individual honours, including the ‘Man of the Series’ award carrying a cash prize of Rs 20,000, have also been announced.
The matches are being played under floodlights at M A Stadium, enhancing the spectator experience, while the games are also being live-streamed for cricket fans across Jammu and Kashmir and beyond.
In his address at the inaugural ceremony sports minister Satish Sharma described J&K’s recent Ranji Trophy triumph as a historic milestone for the region.
“The victory demonstrated the immense sporting talent present in J&K. This shows how our young athletes can excel at the national level when provided with the right opportunities and platforms,” he said.
The minister also outlined the department’s upcoming sports calendar for Jammu and said they are planning for a Football Premier League at the Mini Stadium, a national-level cyclothon, and a volleyball league aimed at expanding sporting opportunities for youth in the region.
Meanwhile, competitive matches in the league continued on Saturday, drawing enthusiastic participation from teams and spectators as the tournament seeks to provide a major platform for budding cricketers from across the region.
