SRINAGAR, July 19: Srinagar Shahjahans Clinched the title of the Army-sponsored second Kashmir Premier League (KPL) by defeating Anantnag Arsenals by eight wickets in the Delhi Public School ground at Athwajan in the outskirts of Srinagar on Thursday.
Batting first, Anantnag Arsenals scored 151 runs in their allotted 20 overs with captain Parvez Rasool scoring a quick-fire 36 runs off 27 balls.
For Shahjahans, Amir Aziz took three wickets for 24 runs from his quota of four overs. They eventually chased the target successfully, thus winning by eight wickets.
The biggest cricket extravaganza the valley has ever witnessed – KPL II (Chinar Cup 2012) which commenced in April 12 culminated with a fiercely contested Grand Finale, an official spokesperson said.
The match was followed by a glittering closing and award ceremony which was presided over by Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs R.S Chib.
The minister said a ‘concerted drive’ and the synergy between civil administration and Army was essential for ensuring the success of the tournament and also in the selection of budding players exhibiting exemplary cricketing talent for subsequent training at reputed cricketing academies.
“KPL will be now a permanent feature for exploiting the hidden cricket potential of youth and polishing it in better way for bringing the cricket standard at par with National and international levels,” Chib said.
Lieutenant General Om Prakash, GOC Chinar Corps and ex Indian cricket captain and spin-wizard Bishan Singh Bedi were also presented at the occasion.
The Srinagar Shah Jahans on being crowned the KPL Champions also received a cash award of five lac rupees while the runners-up were given a cash prize of three lac rupees. The first and the second runners-up were also given One lac and 60,000 rupees respectively.
Adil Reshi of the winning team was awarded the Man of the Tournament for his brilliant all round display and received Fifty Thousand rupees as prize money.
