UP pip Rajasthan to winRaj Singh Dungarpur trophy

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh won the Central Zone Under-14 Raj Singh Dungarpur Trophy for the seventh time on Friday. UP pipped Rajasthan in a drawn final match in Indore by taking the first innings lead. UP were runners-up in the past three years.In the first innings, UP bowlers bundled out Rajasthan for 218 in 53.3 overs. For Rajasthan, Puneet Yadav played well, scoring 71 to help Rajasthan post a decent total.
UP's Arnav Balotiya 3/40, Saurabh Verma 2/26 and Mohd Sheran 2/34 were outstanding with the ball.In UP's first innings, Harsh Singh and Ayushman Yadav struck centuries and Aarnav Balotiya and Manit Chaudhary posted fifties that helped UP put up a mammoth 590 in 134.1 overs.Harsh Singh (188r, 264b), Ayushman (157r, 193b), Aarnav Balotiya (85r, 109b) and Manit Chaudhary (68*r, 78b) were the main scorers.In the second innings, Rajasthan were 234/5 in 59 overs when the match ended in a draw.On the third and last day, the upper order of Rajasthan collapsed early before no. 6 Mukul Kaushik (110r, 163b) and Punit Yadav (58r, 84b) batted stubbornly to avoid an outright defeat. For UP, Manav grabbed 2/22, Mohd Sheeran 2/43 and Manit Chaudhry took 1/46. Key scorers through the tournament Arnav Balotiya 546 in 5 matches and 6 innings, Ayushman Yadav scored 447 runs in five matches and Harsh Singh scored 409 runs in five matches.Manav claimed 19 wickets in five matches, Sourav Verma grabbed 11 in five matches, Ishu Sachan took 10 wickets in five matches, and Arnav Balotiya and Syed Arman Raza claimed 6 wickets each in five and four matches, respectively.Congratulating the team, BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla said, "Winning the U-14 Raj Singh Dungarpur Trophy for the 7th time in 13 editions reflects the strength of Uttar Pradesh's grassroots cricket system. Consistent focus on development and talent identification at junior level across districts is paying rich dividends."