Congratulations: This is really a good news to celebrate! Ganesh
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1111101/jsp/frontpage/story_14691900.jsp Assam girls lift U-19 trophy A STAFF REPORTER Guwahati, Oct. 31: TheAssam Cricket Association (ACA) office erupted in celebrations at RG Baruah Sports Complex here this evening when the Assam under-19 girls not only became the national limited-overs tournament champions but also scripted history by being the only team to emerge champions, unbeaten throughout, after 16 years. The last time the ACA celebrated was when the state under-16 boys’ team annexed the Vijay Merchant Trophy in the 1994-95 season. The Assam girls today handed a eight-wicket defeat to Himachal Pradesh in the final in Bhopal. Set a meagre total of 97 runs to chase in 50 overs, the Assam girls achieved the golden figures losing only two wickets in 38.5 overs, thanks to an unbeaten 50 by Anita Lodhi and 21 not out by Archana Dutta. Skipper Monikha Das said, “The credit for the historic victory goes to team effort.” “I cannot single out any player or department for our success away from home. All I can say is that it was a team effort. Today, we bowled brilliantly to skittle them for a modest total. Then, we made sure that the chase was a cruise, thanks to Anita Lodhi’s half century. Besides, we fielded well,” a jubiliant Monikha told The Telegraph from Bhopal over phone. In bowling, Urmila Chatterjee and M. Leima Chanu took two wickets each while Monikha and Ritu Dhrub picked up one each. The fact that the team had topped the East Zone tally before it left for Bhopal also helped as far as motivation was concerned. Appreciating the team’s performance, ACA secretary Bikash Baruah and state sports minister Ajit Singh were unanimous in their observation that hard work and dedication always yield the desired result. “It is a matter of pride for the state and the entire region. The girls deserve kudos for their determined efforts and the laurel they have reaped for the state,” Singh, who is himself a senior office-bearer in the ACA, told The Telegraph. “The chief minister is out of station. I will discuss with him and do our level best to further encourage the girls,” the minister added. Baruah announced a reward of Rs 30,000 and a blazer for every member of the squad. The squad will be received and taken out in a procession from the airport before they are accorded a warm reception at Nehru Stadium tomorrow. “It is a result of the BCCI women’s coaching camp that we hosted here from the month of May. Our girls went down to Uttar Pradesh in the semi-finals last year and they improved on it. Besides, coaches Sushanta Chakraborty and Ashok Talukdar deserve to be named for their dedicated service. The girls invariably deserve to be appreciated for their determination and hard work,” Baruah remarked. Former junior national selector Rajesh Borah went on to heap praises on Baruah “for his solo initiatives at the initial stage to encourage women’s cricket when we adopted it in 2005”. Appreciating Monikha, he said, “She deserves a berth in the national squad.” Former first class player Zakaria Zuffri felt it was the “beginning of good days” for cricket in Assam. “I hope the boys, too, will do wonders this time,” he added. _______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
