Srinagar, Aug 19: Mohammad Rafiq was the star with the ball in hand as Valley Hunks emerged as the winners of district Ganderbal leg of State Cricket Academy T20 Championship, beating Ganderbal Gladiators in the finals on Saturday.
After a very exciting buildup to the summit clash, the game turned out to be a one-sided affair with Hunks thumping Gladiators by six wickets.
It was Rafiq’s magnificent bowling spell that set up Hunks’ title triumph as his four wickets played a major role in his team bowling out Gladiators for just 113. Hunks didn’t sweat much on way to the successful chase, reaching the target in just 17th over with six wickets in the shed. Rafiq collected man of the match award for his match defining spell.
Hunks with this win have made their entry into the main round of the tournament.
Secretary J&K State Sports Council Waheed ur Rehman Parra, SSP Ganderbal Fayaz Ahmad Lone, Principal Government College of Physical Education Hartej Singh and Director State Cricket Academy- organizers of the tournament-Mubashir Hassan besides various officers were in attendance to watch the finals.
Parra reiterated that Sports Council would do everything possible to help young players in their overall growth as cricketers.
“We want to provide you with all the facilities and opportunities to make it big in world of cricket. Onus is on you (players) to work hard and make most of these opportunities,” he told players.
He was all praise for State Cricket Academy officials especially its director, event coordinators and volunteers for making the tournament a success.
Mubashir Hassan said that the basic aim to organize tournaments was to unearth the hidden talent.
“We are very impressed with the overall talent on the show so far. We have made sure this tournament is played across all the districts so that no area or player feels being left out. We will be coming up with more such tournaments to give players an opportunity to rub shoulders with the best in the business,” he said.
Man of the series award was bagged by Danish Muzzafar of Ganderbal Gladiators while as emerging player award was bagged by Sheikh Shahid of Valley Hunks. Best All-rounder award was given to Nissar Ahmad of Wonder Boys Reds. Best Bowler award was given to Sofi Mehraj of Valley Hunks. Best Batsman award was given to Shahid Manzoor of Valley Hunks.