Patna: MP Verma XI clinched the 12th All India MP Verma Prize Money Cricket Tournament title defeating Jharkhand Xi in the day-night final at Urja Stadium here on Friday night.
Two former international cricketers, Surendra Amarnath, Surendra Khanna, along with former Union Minister Subodh Kant Sahay and DG (Vigilance, Government of Bihar) Alok Raj inaugurated the final match after getting introduced to the players of both teams.
After winning the toss, Jharkhand captain Sharan Deep Singh decided to bat first, but once again the left arm spinner of MP Verma XI Sanchit Gupta, who had bowled well in the last two matches, cast the magic once again and took five wickets for 18 runs off 7 overs. Eventually, the Jharkhand XI were dismissed for a paltry 126 runs in 27 overs. Amit Kumar bagged two wickets.
For Jharkhand XI, Ankit Raj scored 19 runs with the help of two fours and a six, Sandeep Singh scored 16 runs in 25 balls with the help of 3 fours, Aryan Raj scored 16 runs in 21 balls with the help of 3 boundaries.
Chasing 127 to win, MP Verma XI achieved the target, losing four wickets. Arjun Deshmukh scored 38 runs with the help of five fours and one six, and Yash Pratap, the Bihar Under-16 captain, made 24 runs with two fours and a six. Arnab Kishore made 17 runs, while captain Lakhan Raja scored 15 runs.
For Jharkhand, Shrikesh took two wickets for 34 runs, and Durgesh and Amit took one wicket each. MP Verma captured the title for the third time in a row and bagged a cash award of Rs 41,000 and a trophy.
During the prize distribution ceremony, former Indian cricket team captain Mohammad Azharuddin addressed the players through video conferencing. Former international cricketer Surendra Khanna shared knowledge on how all the players should focus on match preparation. Former Test cricketer Surendra Amarnath shed light on how his late father, Lala Amarnath, used to give batting tips to Surendra Amarnath and Mohinder Amarnath. He asked the players of both teams to focus on how they should build their innings.
Medals and certificates were given to the players of the runner-up team by Surya Prakash, son of the late MP Verma. Mohd Adil Khan and Patna High Court advocate Chandrashekhar Verma jointly gave a cash award of Rs 21000 and a trophy to the runner-up team.
Surendra Khanna and Surendra Amarnath gave away the trophy to the captain of the winning team, Lakhan Raja, and the cash prize of Rs 41,000 was given by former Union Minister Subodh Kant Sahay, on behalf of the organising committee.
Alok Raj, DG (Vigilance), felicitated Subodh Kant Sahay by presenting him a memento. Anupam Verma and Seema Verma felicitated Surendra Amarnath and Surendra Khanna. Surendra Khanna gave away the cash prize of Rs 3000 to Sanchit Gupta.
