New Delhi, March 15 – The North Zone moved closer to winning the JK Bose Inter-Zonal T20 Cricket Trophy after Rishabh Singh smashed an unbeaten century to lead them to a crushing 10-wicket victory over the South Zone on the second day of the tournament at the Roshanara Cricket Ground in New Delhi on Sunday.
Rishabh's unbeaten 100 off 54 balls was the highlight of North Zone's dominant chase, as they overhauled South Zone's competitive 187/4 in 18.2 overs. Captain Akash Rawal contributed 38 before retiring due to injury, while Amit remained unbeaten on 33, allowing North Zone to win with ease.
Earlier, South Zone had posted a challenging total of 187/4, thanks to Shiva Krishna's 89 and VL Sashank's 50, but their efforts proved inadequate against a dominant North Zone side. A win against East Zone on Monday will hand North Zone the trophy.
The tournament is being held as part of the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Sports Journalists Federation of India (SJFI) National Convention in New Delhi.
In the second match of the day at the Delhi Police Ground, West Zone similarly defeated East Zone by 10 wickets, completing the chase of 133 in just 12.2 overs without losing a wicket.
Taus Rizvi scored an unbeaten 58, and Devendra Pandey made 50 not out, sealing a comprehensive victory. Pandey had also taken two wickets with the ball earlier, restricting East Zone to 132/7, with Sandeep Mishra scoring 37 and Sakal Sandha making 35.
In the table tennis team competition at Roshanara Club, DSJA-1 and SJAM-1 advanced to the final after winning their respective matches on Saturday. DSJA-1, comprising Kushan Sarkar, Bharat Sharma, and Norris Pritam, defeated the Sports Writers Association of Bengaluru (SWAB-1).
Meanwhile, SJAM-1, consisting of Amol Karhadkar, Ashwin Ferro, and Akush Dhavre, overcame the Tamil Nadu Sports Journalists Association (TNSJA-1). The two teams will meet again in the final on Monday at the same venue.
Former BCCI President C.K. Khanna and former DDCA vice-president Shashi Khanna were felicitated by DSJA President Abhishek Tripathi at Roshanara Club.
Brief scores:
South Zone 187/4 in 20 overs (Shiva Krishna 89, VL Sashank 50) lost to North Zone 188/0 in 18.2 overs (Rishabh Singh 100 not out, Akash Rawal 38) by 10 wickets
East Zone 132/7 in 20 overs (Sandeep Mishra 37, Sakal Sandha 35; Devendra Pandey 2/16) lost to West Zone 133/0 in 12.2 overs (Taus Rizvi 58, Devendra Pandey 50 not out) by 10 wickets