2nd T20 DPCA cricket tournament begins

ITANAGAR, 25 Sep: The second T20 Donyi Polo Cricket Academy (DPCA) Champion Trophy began at IG Park here on Saturday.

Itanagar Cricket Club (Blue/Mithun) won both the matches played against Itanagar Cricket Club (Green/Hornbill) on the opening day.

ICC Blue team beat ICC Green by nine wickets in the first match.

Electing to bat first after winning the toss, ICC Green scored 107 runs in their allotted 20 overs, losing seven wickets. Captain Kengo Bam scored the highest 27 runs off 34 balls, while Biki Kumar hit 17 runs off 22 balls.

Mapu Yigam, Vipin Yadav, Bamang Chungnia and Suraj Tayam contributed 14, 13, 11 and 10 runs respectively to the team’s total.

For ICC Blue, Neelam Obi took three wickets, while Tanmai Paul and Hage Tama claimed two and one wicket, respectively.

In reply, Song Tacho struck 61 runs off 53 balls and remained not out. Neelam Obi (C) contributed 20 runs. Shaik Salm remained not out at 15 runs. Neelam Obi was declared man of the match for his all-round performance.

In the second match too, ICC Green batted first and set ICC Blue a moderate target of 91 runs to win.

Biki Kumar scored 22 runs off 23 balls, while Vipin Yadav made 17 runs off 10 balls. Bamang Chungnia, Rajesh Kumar and Suraj Tayam scored 13, 12 and 10 runs, respectively.

For ICC Blue, Kale Cheda took four wickets and Neelam Obi and Chandan Kr Singh took one wicket each.

Migo Ada and Neelam Obi helped their team in getting two batsmen, Kengo Bam and Firoz Shah, run out.

While chasing the target, all the top order batsmen failed to give their team a good start as they fell cheaply. However, the middle order batsmen played cautiously and led the team to another victory.

Kale Cheda scored a quick-fire 32 runs off 15 balls and remained not out. Migo Ada made 20 runs off 25 balls, while Chandan Kr Singh and Rava Joni scored 18 runs and 15 runs.

For ICC Green, Kengo Bam took two wickets, and Bikram Gurung, Mapu Yigam and Firoz Shah took a wicket each.

Kale Cheda was adjudged man of the match for his all-round performance.

Earlier, the championship was inaugurated by Itanagar Cricket Association president Taba Techi. He advised the players to maintain discipline and sportsman’s spirit and take up the sport sincerely.

Tawang District Cricket Association secretary Sonam Tenzing, chief selector of Arunachal Cricket Association (2021-22) Lokam Garga and ICC president Suraj Tayam also spoke.