da fazobetai： Vikram Rathour receiving the JP Atray Memorial Trophy © CricInfo The final of the JP Atray memorial tournament in Chandigarh sawReetinder Singh Sodhi push his claim for national selection
Anand Vasu01-Oct-2000
Vikram Rathour receiving
the JP Atray Memorial Trophy
© CricInfoThe final of the JP Atray memorial tournament in Chandigarh sawReetinder Singh Sodhi push his claim for national selection. Slammingan unbeaten 84, the Punjab Cricket Club youngster took his side tovictory by 19 runs. This is the third consecutive time the PCC havelifted the JP Atray trophy.After being put in to bat by ONGC skipper Rizwan Shamshad, the PCCside made the best of ONGC’s blunders in the field and piled up asolid total. Mediumpacer Feroz Ghyas who did not play a match in thetournament so far, had PCC skipper Vikram Rathour edging the ball tothe ‘keeper in his very first over. Manoj Mudgal floored a relativelyeasy chance and Rathour made him pay for it. In an almost run a ballknock that yielded 59 runs, Rathour got the home side off to a flyingstart. At the other end, under-19 star Munish Sharma (41) did well toget a start but a rush of blood saw him play all over a quick offspinner from Virender Sehwag.Mediumpacer Mohammed Saif quickly snared Dinesh Mongia and VivekMahajan. This brought Sodhi into the middle at a time when PCC neededto consolidate their position. He did just that, playing with a lot ofrestraint. Off spinner Sharandeep Singh (30) kept Sodhi good companyand the two pushed hard for ones and twos. However, it was not untilthe late entry of Harbhajan Singh that the PCC innings got the boostit needed. Harbhajan swung the bat with precision, clearing the ropestwice on the way to a 15-ball 21.At the other end, Sodhi batted his heart out. Running ferociouslybetween the wickets, Sodhi wasted no scoring opportunities. If he wasnot thundering between the wickets, he was striking the ball with gayabandon. He was especially good playing the ball back past the bowlerand hit two towering sixes off the spinners. In the last four overs,he shifted into top gear, scoring 49 runs in that span. At the end ofthe innings he was unbeaten on 84 and his innings had pushed the PCCscore on to 276 for seven in 50 overs.Although ONGC had chased a total over 300 successfully in thetournament, it’s never easy to chase big totals in a final. Star ofthe semifinal, Sandeep Sharma got ONGC off to a very healthy start,striking the ball cleanly through both the off and on sides. Aftermaking a run a ball 47, Sandeep Sharma was trapped LBW by a ball thatkept low from Harbhajan Singh. Gagan Khoda did well to make 37 but hetoo did not pace his innings well enough. Radhey Shyam Gupte, VirenderSehwag and Rizwan Shamshad were all overwhelmed by the size of thetotal and were dismissed attempting extravagant shots.At 169/6, the game looked all but over. Mithun Manhas however changedall that with an innings that any batsman would be proud of. Tonkingthe ball at will, he rotated the strike magnificently. Unfortunately,there was no one with his composure at the other end. As a list ofbatsmen marched in and out attempting wild swipes, Manhas was lefthigh and dry on 61 off just 51 balls. A total of 257 in 48.5 overs wasall the ONGC side could muster, a case of so near and yet so far.At the prize giving ceremony, Manhas was declared man of the match.Other prizes went to all rounder Sandeep Sharma (man of the series),Navdeep Singh (best bowler), Reetinder Sodhi (best batsman) andHarminder Jugnu (best stumper).