Nagesh Trophy: Uttarakhand Defeats Pondicherry, Delhi Thrashes Maharashtra By 142 Runs

Nagesh Trophy: Uttarakhand defeats Pondicherry, Delhi thrashes Maharashtra by 142 runs (Image Source: IANS)

Kasiga School Cricket Ground: Uttarakhand defeated Pondicherry by 64 runs while Delhi thrashed Maharashtra by 142 runs here at the Kasiga School Cricket Ground in the ongoing 6th edition of Men's National T20 Cricket Tournament for the Blind 2023-24 also known as Nagesh Trophy.

After the conclusion of the Jammu leg, the IndusInd Bank Nagesh Trophy is now set for the Group B matches, featuring intense competitions among Karnataka, Delhi, Maharashtra, Pondicherry, and Uttarakhand. These teams will battle it out over the next few days, showcasing their skills and determination.

In the first match of the day in Dehradun, Uttarakhand scored 177/2 in the allotted 20 overs and then folded Pondicherry for 113 in 19 overs, registering a thumping win by 64 runs. Gambheer Singh Chauhan scored 81 of 68 balls for Uttarakhand and was adjudged the Player of the Match.

In the second game, riding on the century of Sanjay Kumar Shah (110 in 44 balls), Delhi smashed 241/3 in the allotted 20 overs. Maharashtra had no answer to Delhi's bowling and were folded for 99 runs in 15 overs with captain Nilesh Yadav picking up three wickets. Sanjay was named as the Player of the Match for his brilliant ton.

Karnataka and Uttarakhand will now be up against each other while Pondicherry will face Maharashtra on Tuesday here at the Kasiga School Cricket Ground on Day 2 of the Dehradun leg.

The ongoing 6th edition of Nagesh Trophy began on November 23 with the four teams of Group E battling out at the University of Jammu. The tournament will run till January 30, 2024 and the League stage will be played till December 29, 2023.

Jammu & Kashmir won all matches and now sits on top of the table with 6 points. Goa is in the second spot with 4 points while Railways on third with two points. Punjab wasn't able to win a single match and ended the Jammu leg with zero points in Group E.

Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif has also joined hands with Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) as Brand Ambassador for Nagesh Trophy.

Meanwhile, after the league matches end on December 29, 2023, Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) in association with the Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled will hold the Super 8 Stage Matches at Nagpur, Maharashtra in January 2024.

The league matches of the 6th edition of the IndusInd Bank Nagesh Trophy are being played across 6 venues namely, Jammu, Dehradun (Uttarakhand), Kochi (Kerala), Chandigarh, Agarthala (Tripura), and Kota (Rajasthan).

A total of 28 Teams (State /UT’s and an Indian Railways team which is represented by the Visually Impaired working in Railways) are playing the T20 format Tournament. 28 teams are divided based on the last year's ranking into 6 groups. The first 4 groups have 5 teams each and the last 2 groups have 4 teams each.

The 5th edition had the joint winners (Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka) due to the rain. Odisha won the Nationals once while Andhra Pradesh had emerged victorious in the finals of the tournament 3 times.