UP take Madhavrao Scindia Trophy on first innings lead

Guided by the good form their batsmen found themselves in, Uttar Pradesh stamped their supremacy in the Under-16 category by winning the Madhavrao Scindia Trophy by virtue of their 163 run first innings lead over Rest of India at the Kamla Club ground in Kanpur on Tuesday.

Opting to bat first on the opening day, Uttar Pradesh amassed 455 for 7 on the board. The UP skipper Rahat Ilahi (122) was the top scorer. He drew able support from A Alam (88) with whom he shared a 89 run stand for the fourth wicket. This was followed by a 141 run stand with S Raina (63). Rahul Arora (2 for 33) and SA Pai (2 for 27) were the pick of the bowlers for the Rest of India side. During a three and a quarter hour stay at the crease, Ilahi faced 271 balls and hit just four boundaries and two sixes.

In response, Rest of India who batted for the rest of the second day and the third were all out for 292. The top scorer was the Rest of India skipper Rahul Arora with 55. K Vasudeva Das (45), opener SO Kukreja (43) and SA Pai (46) made useful contributions. Praveen Gupta (5 for 61) was the most successful bowler for UP.