Jammu, Dec 14: The Powergrid Inter-Regional Cricket Tournament 2024 kicked off on Saturday in Jammu, marking the start of a five-day sporting extravaganza. Scheduled from December 14 to December 18, the tournament features eleven teams representing various regions of POWERGRID, including Eastern Region-I (ER-I), Eastern Region-II (ER-II), Northern Region-I (NR-I), Northern Region-III (NR-III), Southern Region-I (SR-I), Southern Region-II (SR-II), Western Region-I (WR-I), Western Region-II (WR-II), North Eastern Region (NER), Corporate Centre (CC), and the host team, Northern Region-II (NR-II).
The T20-format tournament is being played on a league-cum-knockout basis, with matches taking place across three venues: MA Stadium, Jammu; University Cricket Ground, Jammu; and Jammu Sports Club, Tawa, Kot-Balwal. After the league stage, the top four teams will advance to the semifinals, culminating in the final showdown for the coveted trophy.
The event was inaugurated by Tarun Bajaj, Executive Director of POWERGRID Northern Region-II, in the presence of senior officials, including Arindham Chakraborty, CGM (Projects), NR-II; Shafat Ahmed Wani, Sr. GM (AM); and Vinod P. Baxla, GM (HR). Speaking at the ceremony, Bajaj encouraged players to uphold the spirit of sportsmanship and emphasized the role of such events in fostering teamwork, camaraderie, and mutual respect among employees.
A key highlight of the opening ceremony was the captivating march past by an Army band, accompanied by the participating teams, which left the audience in awe.
Day 1 Match Highlights:
University Cricket Ground, Jammu:
Match 1: NR-II defeated WR-II by 5 wickets.
WR-II: 100 all out, NR-II: 101/5 in 12.3 overs. Man of the Match: Vinod Atri (NR-II).
Match 2: ER-II defeated ER-I by 24 runs. ER-II: 130/3 in 15 overs, ER-I: 106/6 in 15 overs, Man of the Match: Sunil Chetri (ER-II)
MA Stadium, Jammu:
Match 1: NR-I triumphed over SR-I by a massive 130 runs. NR-I: 190/8 in 20 overs, SR-I: 60 all out in 14.2 overs
Man of the Match: Bhavesh (NR-I)
Match 2: CC defeated WR-I by 78 runs, CC: 176/6 in 20 overs, WR-I: 98 all out in 19.2 overs, Man of the Match: Sandeep Panwar (CC)
Jammu Sports Club, Tawa:
Match 1: SR-II overcame NR-III by 27 runs. SR-II: 112/9 in 20 overs
NR-III: 85 all out in 16.3 overs, Man of the Match: Ashutosh Shrivastava (SR-II).
