Fairytale start for Rajasthan Roarers and UP Heroes as Delhi Dashers and Bangalore Stars falter

IJPL witnesses two stunning all-round performances on Day 2

Anshul Choudhary (3/14& 18 off 15 balls) & Aryan Lakra (5/16 &12 off 17b)

Rajasthan Roarers beat Delhi Dashers by seven wickets

UP Heroes beat Bangalore Stars by seven wickets

Owner of Hyderabad Hawks, star Laxmi Manchu give pep talk to young guns

Bangalore Stars co-owner Aindrita Ray and Diganth interact with team

Dubai, September 20, 2017: Day 2 of the path-breaking Indian Junior Players League Talent Hunt (IJPL Talent Hunt) witnessed two sensational all-round displays from a couple of unknown rookies, Anshul Choudhary of Rajasthan Roarers and Aryan Lakra of UP Heroes. Both youngsters, inspired by the recent exploits of emerging India all-rounder Hardik Pandya, flourished with the ball and bat with impressive maturity and temperament to  lead their respective team to emphatic wins against Delhi Dashers and Bangalore Stars respectively.

A state with rich heritage of cricket but unable to produce as many international cricketers as they should have ideally, Rajasthan Roarersshowed plenty of promise in the inaugural edition of the IJPL Talent Huntas they thrashed fancied Delhi Dashers by six wickets at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

Anshul Choudhary became the first all-round sensation of the IJPL. The youngster shattered the confidence of Delhi Dashers batsmen with a lethal spell of three wickets for just 14 runs and returned to hammer 18 runs off 15 deliveries, including a towering six to finish the match in style.

Earlier, Delhi Dashers finished with just 80 runs on the board at the cost of seven wickets from their quota of 20 overs. While Hitesh Kumar struck 22 runs off 48 deliveries to stick around for the longest time for Delhi Dashers, Choudhary, along with co-bowlers Ajay Tanwar (1/6) and Bheem Dhamala (1/19) worked up an effective strategy and didn’t allow the frontline batsmen to find their rhythm.

Rajasthan Roarers broke no sweat in chasing down the required runs as almost all their top batsmen struck form. Younus Ali took the expressway to score 29 runs off mere 14 balls, while Keshav Sharma (21 off 21 balls) and Choudhary (18 off 15 balls) chipped in with the rest.

In the second match of the day, UP Heroes trounced Bangalore Stars by seven wickets. Bangalore Stars were dismissed for 76 runs in 13. 3 overs, with Nayan contributing more than half the runs with a brisk 39 off 24 ballls. Aryan Lakra captured five wickets for 16 runs, while Subham Agarwal (2/0) and YajuurvedaJanmeda (2/23) shared the spoils with two wickets each. In reply, UP Heroes scored 77 for three in just 12.1 overs, with Virat scoring the bulk of the runs with 32 off 30 deliveries, and Agarwal (19 off 23) and Lakra (12 off 17) making the rest of the contribution.

Former Pakistani fast bowler Sikander Bakhtwho is part of IJPL commentary team, said, he was impressed with the all-round performance of both the young all-rounders. The former fast bowler said, “The IJPL is just two days old and the tournament has already produced some sensational performances. I hope people back in India are following the exploits of these young talents. Both Anshul Choudhary and Aryan Lakra were a sheer delight to watch and it’s so nice to see these young guns completely fired up to bowl and bat, just in the footstep of the legendary Imran Khan and Kapil Dev.”

Earlier in the day, Telugu star and the owner of Hyderabad Hawks, Laxmi Manchu and Kannada film’s hit onscreen pair and co-owner of Bangalore Stars, Aindrita Ray and Diganth drew loud cheers from the 16 teams participating in the IJPL. The stars interacted with their respective teams for a pep talk.

On this occasion,Laxmi Manchu said, “I come from a family where cricket in particular and sports in general is a huge passion. I’m extremely proud to be associated with Hyderabad Hawks. The IJPL is a unique initiative and I’m confident that some of these youngsters who are participating in the IJPL will become future stars of the Indian cricket team.”

On this occasion, Aindrita Ray said, “I’ve been the brand ambassador for CCL and when IJPL MD Dr Dinesh Kapoor approached me for Bangalore Stars I was bowled over by the concept. It’s important for these youngsters to get the right exposure in their career.” On this occasion,Diganth said, “I’ve been a state-level badminton player and also played cricket for the CCL. The IJPL model is a great platform for our youngsters to perform and get noticed.”

Earlier, in late matches completed on Tuesday, Chennai Champs beat Kolkata Strikers by 17 runs while Punjab Tigers thrashed Assam Rangers by 87 runs. Batting first, Chennai Champs were bundled out for 134 runs in 19.2 overs. In response, Kolkata began their innings well but finished 17 runs short, with a total of 117/7 in 20 overs.  In the other match, Punjab Tigers scored 177 runs in 20 overs and then wrapped up Assam Rangers for just 90 runs, to script the biggest winning margin in the IJPL so far.

Caption pic 1: IJPL MD Dr Dinesh Kapoor with Hyderabad Hawks owner and Telugu star Laxmi Manchu and their team members.

Press release

Dehradun Rockers trounce Pune Panthers in inaugural IJPL match

Dubai, September 19, 2017: Dehradun Rockers, powered by a record three wickets haul by Rohit Rana (3/16), easily won the inaugural match of the path-breaking Indian Junior Players League Talent Hunt (IJPL Talent Hunt), thrashingPune Panthers by seven wickets here on Tuesday.

September 19, 2017. Probably 10 years from now this day will be talked about for being that day in history which revolutionized grass root cricket. The IJPL commenced amidst lot of hearsay and exhilaration. The opening ceremony of the inaugural edition of the IJPL was a spectacular affair but it fell way short on the day, when compared to the fireworks displayed by the young cricket guns.

It was a blockbuster that gripped Dubai here today.  There was also glam quotient. Kannada film stars and co-owners of Bangalore Stars, Aindrita Ray and Diganth cheered Rohit Rana and Co., who bundled out Pune Panthers for just 78 runs in 17.1 overs.  Rana was assisted by his fellow-bowlers in the attack, Suraj Satwal (3/12) and Vidhigya Pathak (3/20) as the trio left Pune reeling right from the beginning. Nikit Singh (29 runs off 34 deliveries), Rohit Dinode (11 runs) and Pranay Lubal (11 runs) tried to counter the Doon bowlers but they ran short of partners and steam for a rearguard action to become a possibility.

Dehradun Rockers reached the winning run in style, scoring 83 for three wickets in just 9.4 overs. Prateek Panwar set up the run chase in a brilliant manner with an unbeaten 42 off merely 31 deliveries. Uvaish Ahmad (15 runs off 7 balls), Aditya Khokhar (11 runs off 9 balls) were the other contributors for the winning side. For Pune Panthers, Amit Chawarekar, G Toshniwal and Aditya More bagged a wicket each.

On this occasion, former Pakistani fast bowler Sikander Bakht, who is here as a commentator, praised the IJPL for being a great platform for showcasing Indian cricket’s junoon in this age category. He said, “This is a unique initiative and I salute the effort of Dr Dinesh Kapoor, IJPL managing director, for giving this opportunity to young cricket talent in India. I’m absolutely confident that the IJPL will take Indian cricket to great heights.”

In other matches, Chennai Champs take on Kolkata Strikers while Assam Rangers will face off with Punjab Tigers. Earlier, His Excellency, Hamad Abdullah Al Qasemi, chairman of Freehold Mediation Authority, UAE, Dr Ram Buxani, chairman, ITL Cosmos Group, Dubai, Mr Mohan Jashanmai, chairman, Emeritus Indian Business Professionals Group, Abu Dhabi and Dr Dinesh Kapoor, managing director, IJPL, were part of a grand opening ceremony of the IJPL.

Pune Panthers: Nikit Singh (captain), Amit  Anand Chawarekar, Aftab Alam Shaikh (wk), More Aditya Suresh, Yajurveda Janmeda, Atharva Satish Gaikwad, Navseerat , Rohit Ajay Dinode, Pranay Sampatrao Lubal, Rehan Shamim Khan, Gaurav Toshniwal, Pranav Anil Dhimate. 

Dehradun Rockers:Uvais Ahmad (captain), Prateek Panwar, Aditya Khokhar,  ArkoJyoti Chattopadhyay, Eash Paliwal, Ashwin Hooda, Shreyas Saklani, Rohit Rana, Vidhigya Pathak, Suraj Satwal, Jatin Bhatia, Harsh Mittal.

Wednesday’s schedule: Delhi Dashers vs Rajasthan Roarers; Bangalore Stars vs UP Heroes; Mumbai Masters vs Ranchi Boosters.

All IJPL matches LIVE streaming on Sports Flashes: Sports Flashes will cover every single ball bowled and every single run scored live. Download the Sports Flashes app for your ios and Android devices and don't miss a single second of the action, live and exclusive from Dubai!  

Caption (top): IJPL Managing Director Dinesh Kapoor with Mr Mohan Jashanmai, chairman, Emeritus Indian Business Professionals Group, Abu Dhabi 

Photo caption (second from top): IJPL MD Dr Dinesh Kapoor with His Excellency, Hamad Abdullah Al Qasemi, chairman of Freehold Mediation Authority, UAE

IJPL Press release

IJPL Talent Hunt: Telugu star Laxmi to own Hyderabad Hawks; Kannada stars Aindrita and Diganth to co-own Bangalore Stars

New Delhi, September 16, 2017:The Indian Junior Players League Talent Hunt (IJPL Talent Hunt) is proud to reveal its first woman-owner in the path-breaking league for upcoming cricketers. Telugu starLaxmi Manchu, who has also starred in American television series, Desperate Housewives and Las Vegas, comes on board as the owner of Hyderabad Hawks franchise.

In another major boost to the IJPL Talent Hunt, Kannada film’s hit onscreen pair, Aindrita Ray and Diganthhave padded up for their maiden cricket venture as the co-owners of Bangalore Stars franchise.

IJPL Talent Hunt’s managing director, Dr Dinesh Kapoor expressed that he was extremely proud to reveal Laxmi Manchu as the owner of Hyderabad Hawks and Aindnrita Ray and Digant as the co-owner of Bangalore Stars and welcomed them to the family of IJPL Talent Hunt. 

Kapoor said, “In addition to having film-maker and actor Arbaaz Khan and actor Rajeev Khandelwal, the introduction of Telugu star Laxmi Manchu and Kannada film icons Aindrita Ray and Diganth speaks a lot about the level of the IJPL Talent Hunt. Their stardom will be an honourable addition to the existing group of owners of teams in IJPL Talent Hunt.” 

Laxmi Manchu has carved a niche for herself as an actor, TV host and film producer. She has worked in 20 feature films in India and the US, besides acting in American television series, Las Vegas, Desperate Housewives, Mystery ER to name a few of them. 

Manchu said, “I’m super excited to be part of IJPL Talent Hunt and I hope my team, Hyderabad Hawk goes all out to win the Cup in Dubai.”

Aindrita Ray received critical acclaim for essaying the role of a mentally-challenged girl in the Kannada film, Manasaare, and has worked in successful films down south. She is already connected to cricket as the brand ambassador of Celebrity Cricket League. Diganth Manchale, popularly known as Diganth, is in the top league of Kannada actors.

The IJPL Talent Hunt will culminate in a grand competition between 16 teams at Dubai’s state-of-the-art International Cricket Stadium, from September 19-29, 2017. Star cricketer, Gautam Gambhir is the Brand Ambassador of IJPL Talent Hunt. All the IJPL Talent Hunt matches will be brought to the cricket-crazy fans via LIVE streaming on India’s No.1 Sports App, Sports Flashes, and online on sportsflashes.

The young guns will have plenty at stake in the path-breaking IJPL Talent Hunt as the 16 franchise teams will slog it out for the winner’s trophy, with the champions set to take home a prize money of INR 21 lakh and INR 11 lakh for the runners-up. The man of the tournament will be sent to play in minor county cricket in the UK. 

List of 16 Franchises in 2017 IJPL Talent Hunt:

Gujarat Greats, Kolkata Strikers, Bangalore Stars, Assam Rangers, Pune Panthers, Delhi Dashers, Ranchi Boosters, Punjab Tigers, Dehradun Rockers, UP Heroes, Hyderabad Hawks, Chennai Champs, Rajasthan Roarers, Mumbai Masters, MP Warriors, and Haryana Hurricanes.

Format of the 2017 IJPL Talent Hunt: The 16 teams have been divided into four groups where all the teams will play against each other once. The top-2 teams from each group with maximum points will qualify for the quarterfinals, followed by the winning teams’ progress to the semi-finals and further to the final. 

IJPL Press release

VIVO IPL 2017 Trophy Tour debuts in Patna

Patna, March 20, 2017: Following a successful run in 7 cities across India, the VIVO IPL trophy gripped the people of Patna in excitement when it reached its eighth destination, Central mall here on Monday.

The fans were excited to see the trophy their team will be competing for during the tournament. 

The devotees of the sport in Patna got a chance to capture themselves in a special moment with the Vivo IPL trophy. Actress Rhea Chakraborty added excitement amongst the crowd when the trophy made a stopover at Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park and selfie enthusiasts got a chance to capture perfect selfies with the VIVO IPL trophy.

Around 1500 enthusiastic fans enjoyed the sight of the coveted VIVOIPL trophy and engaged themselves in various exciting activities. The trophy is now heading towards the city of Ranchi.

Sporty Solutionz sub-licenses New Zealand-Sri Lanka cricket series rights

NEW DELHI, Dec 12, 2015: Sporty Solutionz has sub-licensed the New Zealand-Sri Lanka cricket series media rights to Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation. The licensing agreement enables the national broadcaster of Sri Lanka to transmit all the matches during Sri Lankan National Cricket team’s 2015-2016 tour to New Zealand.

The bilateral cricket series between hosts New Zealand and Sri Lanka is being played from December 10, 2015, and January 10, 2016. This will feature two Tests, five one-day internationals and two T-20 ties.

This is the first full overseas tour for Sri Lanka after the retirement of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumara Sangakkara and has generated tremendous interest among the cricket lovers of the county.

Sporty Solutionz, earlier this year, has acquired media broadcast rights for all international cricket hosted by New Zealand till 2017 for the territory of Indian sub-continent.

Sporty Solutionz Chief Exectuive, Mr Ashish Chadha says: “This is a transitional phase for the Sri Lankan cricket which starts a new era post retirements of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. The Emerald Island is as passionate about the sport of cricket as any other nation in the sub-continent. The series in the Kiwiland is all set to set up records on viewership charts.”

Rupavahini is Sri Lanka’s national broadcaster with the best reach to the television viewers in the country.

Press release

Sukhdeo cricket trophy unveiled

Patna, December 4, 2015: The 31st All India Sukhdeo Narain Memorial Inter-School Cricket Tournament Trophy was unveiled here on Friday.

Former international umpire LP Verma, tournament committee patron Binod Kumar, its president Rohit Jain, Bijoy Kumar Narain Chunnu, Diljeet Khanna and Ashok Kumar Sinha jointly unveiled the trophy.

This year’s Sukhdeo cricket tournament will be dedicated to Swachh Bihar and de-addiction

Patna, December 3, 2015: The 31st edition of the All India Sukhdeo Narain Memorial Inter-School Cricket Tournament will be dedicated to de-addiction and Swachh Bihar, according to organising secretary Bijoy Kumar Narain Chunnu.

The tournament will begin at the Moinul Haq Stadium here on December 6. In the opening match Litera Valley School will meet St Paul’s International School.

The programme schedule states that all participating teams will assemble at 8 am at the venue. All participating teams will line up before the main stage with their school flags.

Raman Sindhi will deliver motivational speech. School girls will line up from entrance point to main dais to welcome the guests.

Arrival of guests and they will be received by the members of the organising committee thereafter tilak and garlanding ceremony would be performed.

Organising secretary Bijoy Kumar Narain Chunnu will pin up the badge to the guests.

HL Gulati will request the chief guest to hoist the tournament flag. Guests will light up Swachh Bihar torch and hand it over to senior most captain of a team for making an inner round of stadium holding the torch. Participating teams will follow the torch bearer to make a round of the ground.  Then the teams will take oath and take pledge for Swachh Bihar and de-addiction.  

Chief guest will declare the tournament open.

Bursting of 31 crackers and releasing of balloons are the other programmes. Distribution of dark glasses to the blind children and study materials to Madrasa students are the other programmes of the opening ceremony.

School students will display placards displaying the slogans on de-addiction.

The organizing committee has also decided to honour students, who had participated in the tournament previous years and got 75 per cent marks in the class 10th examination.

CEAT signs 3-year deal with Suresh Raina for bat sponsorship

Mumbai, October 1, 2015: CEAT Ltd. has signed ace Indian cricketer Suresh Raina for bat association for next three years. Suresh Raina, the only Indian cricketer to score a century in all three formats of international cricket, will be seen representing CEAT bat in all the versions of cricket going forward. The CEAT logo will prominently feature on the bats used by the southpaw. The association has been facilitated by IOS Sports and Entertainment Pvt Ltd which manages Suresh Raina exclusively.

Suresh Raina who is currently part of the Indian Cricket team for T-20 and ODI series against South Africa will be using CEAT logo on his bat in the series commencing from 2nd October in Dharamshala.

Since his debut in 2005, Suresh Raina has established himself as one of the most exciting, reliable and high performing sporting professionals; with a safe pair of hands in the field. These traits resonate with the CEAT brand as well—the brand is known to be reliable, safe and a high performer.

The 28 year old Raina who has just completed a decade in international cricket, has scored 1 century and 7 half-centuries in the test cricket, 5 centuries and 35 half-centuries in ODI and 1 century and 3 half-centuries in T-20, is also the only Indian to score centuries in both T-20 World Cup and 50-50 Overs World Cup.

Commenting on the deal, Anant Goenka, MD, CEAT Ltd said, “We are very excited to get Suresh Raina on board to represent our CEAT bat during cricket matches. We have strategically zeroed in on Raina, considering he is one of the young and dynamic players of the Indian cricket team. He is a great fit for our brand because he personifies the dependability, passion and energy that CEAT stands for.”

On beginning his new association with CEAT, Suresh Raina said “It’s a great honour getting associated with a brand like CEAT. CEAT has been associated with cricket from a long time and I am looking forward to this alliance”

CEAT as a brand has always been associated with cricket—be it pioneering CEAT Cricket Ratings or the recently launched CEAT Cricket gear. Earlier this year, CEAT also tied up with IPL for the Strategic Time Out segment and has brought former Australian international cricketer Brett Lee on board as their brand ambassador for CEAT Cricket Ratings.

Press release

Suresh Raina completes a decade in International Cricket

New Delhi, July 30, 2015: India’s left-handed middle-order batsman Suresh Raina today completed a decade in international cricket. At the age of 20, he made his international debut on 30 July 2005 against Sri Lanka in Dambulla in one day international cricket.

Speaking on completing a decade in international cricket Suresh Raina said “It has been a really exciting journey for me completing a decade in international cricket. I would like to thank my family, BCCI, selectors, teammates, friends and fans for making this unbelievable journey incredible. I am happy the way I have paced my career so far and I will continue to give my best to bring all the laurels to the country”.

The 28 year old middle order batsman had a forgettable international debut a decade ago when he was lbw for a duck in his maiden ODI. Batting at number 6, Raina got lbw off the very first ball he played but since then he has never looked back and has played some excellent match winning knocks for India and is seen as one of the best finishers in 50-over and 20-over cricket. Till date he has played 218 one day international matches in which he scored 5500 runs including 5 centuries and 35 half-centuries with a strike rate of 93.80.

Raina is the only Indian batsman to score century in all three formats of cricket T-20, ODI and Test. He was the part of ICC World Cup 2011 winning Indian team and later he also represented the country in ICC World Cup held in Australia earlier this year. In the two World Cups played, he scored 358 runs including one century and two half-centuries with a strike rate of 107.50.

In 2011, Raina got an opportunity to lead the team in West Indies and under his captaincy team performed well winning ODI series 3-2. He was the second youngest captain of the Indian Cricket team and his captaincy was highly appreciated by former West Indies legends. In 2014, he was again declared captain and led the team to a 2-0 victory against Bangladesh.

Suresh Raina has also played 18 Test and 44 T20 matches.

Press release

Bihar Gold Cup T20 Cricket Tournament begins

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi inaugurated Bihar Gold Cup T20 Cricket Tournament at the Moinul Haq Stadium in Patna on March 1, 2013. Bihar Art, Culture and Youth Affairs Minister Dr Sukhda Pandey was the special guest at the opening function.
In the opening match Canara Bank, Bangalore beat DY Patil Mumbai by 17 runs while in the second match Hari Singh Group, Ghaziabad beat Bihar XI by 9 wickets.
Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

MLA XI beat Sports Journalists Association of Bihar

MLA XI beat Sports Journalists Association of Bihar (SJAB) by five wickets in an exhibition T20 cricket match at the Moinul Haq Stadium in Patna on February 24, 2013. SJAB scored 90 runs losing all wickets off 14.5 overs. In replay, MLA XI reached the target losing five wickets off 13.2 overs.
Bihar Art, Culture and Youth Affairs Minister Dr Sukhda Pandey inaugurated the tournament while Bihar Rural Development Minister Nitish Mishra gave away the prizes.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui

Gautam Gambhir bereaved

New Delhi, November 18, 2012: India cricketer Gautam Gambhir was earlier today bereaved when he lost his maternal grandmother Mrs Asha Gulati. She was 71. Mrs Gulati suffered cardiac arrest on Saturday night.

Gambhir cut short his stay in Ahmedabad where he was playing first Test match against England to return home to be with his family. Gambhir is expected to rejoin the Test squad in Ahmedabad on Monday morning. 

Press release