New Delhi: Rishabh Singh’s blistering unbeaten century powered North Zone to a commanding nine-wicket victory over West Zone in the JK Bose Inter-Zonal T20 Cricket Trophy at the Roshanara Cricket Club, being played as part of the Golden Jubilee edition of the Sports Journalists Federation of India (SJFI) National Convention in New Delhi. In the other match of the day, South Zone thrashed East Zone by eight wickets at the Delhi Police Ground.
Rishabh hammered an unbeaten 102 off just 43 balls, striking 18 fours and two sixes, while captain Akash Rawal chipped in with 29 as North Zone chased down the target of 134 in only 11.1 overs.
Earlier, after opting to bat, West Zone were bowled out for 133 in 19.2 overs. Sanju Samyal top-scored with 30, while Taus Rizvi (24) and Ashwin Ferro (23) made useful contributions. Vinay was the pick of the bowlers for North Zone, claiming three wickets.
In the other match, South Zone produced a clinical bowling display, led by Shiva Krishna, who returned figures of 4 for 5 to bundle out East Zone for a paltry 49. Vijeth Kumar then struck a brisk 26 off 15 balls as South Zone chased down the target inside five overs.
On Sunday, North Zone will face South Zone, while East Zone will take on West Zone in the second match of the day at the Delhi Police Ground.
DSJA-1 and SJAM-1 advance to Table Tennis final; Pythian Games also held
Elsewhere, the Team Events in table tennis were held on Saturday at Roshanara Club, featuring participation from several sports journalists’ associations from across the country.
The day’s action began with the Delhi Sports Journalists Association (DSJA-1) defeating the Sports Writers Association of Bengaluru (SWAB-1). In the other match, the Sports Journalists Association of Mumbai (SJAM-1) overcame the Tamil Nadu Sports Journalists Association (TNSJA-1) to book their place in the title clash.
Following the results, the DSJA-1 team — comprising Kushan Sarkar, Bharat Sharma and Norris Pritam — will take on the SJAM-1 trio of Amol Karhadkar, Ashwin Ferro and Akush Dhavre in the final (Match 16) on Monday at the same venue.
Apart from the table tennis and cricket competitions, the Modern Pythian Games were also organised during the day, with several senior journalists from across the fraternity participating.
The four-day convention, hosted by the Delhi Sports Journalist Association (DSJA), marks the return of the prestigious gathering to the national capital after more than two decades while celebrating 50 years of the federation and bringing together sports journalists from across the country.
