UP beat Mum in semi-final of Vijay Merchant Trophy

Kanpur: Shlok Dinesh Sharma (71 not out) and Kushal Yadav's (38 not out) unbeaten knock and their unbroken partnership of 73 runs for the fifth wicket propelled UP to defeat Mumbai by 6 wickets in the second semi-final of Vijay Merchant trophy for under-16 held at Narendra Modi Stadium ground B Motera Ahmedabad on Monday.Trailing by 4 runs behind Mumbai in the first innings, UP dismissed Mumbai's second innings for 177 runs and pursued a target of 181 runs in their second innings. Sarthak Chechi and Shantanu Singh provided a modest start to their team. UP lost wickets at regular intervals as Shantanu Singh and captain Yuvraj Singh departed scoring 10 and 6 runs respectively. However, Shlok Dinesh Sharma and Kushal Yadav batted resolutely and in their unbeaten partnership accumulated the required runs for victory. Shlok scored 71 runs in 115 deliveries with 8 boundaries while Kushal scored 38 runs in 57 deliveries, striking 7 boundaries. For Mumbai, Aryan emerged as the successful bowler securing 2 wickets for 58 runs.Earlier in Mumbai's second innings, Shantanu Singh wreaked havoc claiming 6 wickets for 55 runs in 11 overs. His victims were Vedant Nirmal, Vansh Chumble, Aadit S Bahuture, Atharva Dhond, Abdurrehman Khan and Karthik Kumar. Arnav Som and Sarthak Chechi supported him from the other end, each claiming 2 wickets.Kanpur cricketers join Nayudu trophy team: Ansh Tiwari and Adarsh Singh have been selected in UP Under-23 team for Col C K Nayudu trophy tournament. UP will clash with Gujarat in their forthcoming match from Jan 25.The selection committee has announced an 18-member team for the tie. The team was finalised after a five-day fitness camp during which practice matches were conducted. tnn