Kanpur Hosts Thrilling Sunil Tiwari Memorial U-13 Cricket and Pickleball Tournaments
In an exciting display of youth sports talent, Kanpur witnessed two major events on Wednesday: the inaugural Sunil Tiwari Memorial U-13 inter-academy cricket tournament and a competitive Pickleball tournament. The cricket matches, held at Sapru Ground, saw SBS Academy emerge victorious, while the Pickleball event featured intense doubles competitions with cash prizes totaling Rs 1 lakh.
SBS Academy Dominates in Cricket Opener
The first match of the Sunil Tiwari Memorial tournament featured SBS Academy facing off against HS Academy. HS Academy, opting to bat first, managed to post a total of 122 runs. Their innings included notable contributions from Chinmay Gaur with 31 runs, Virat scoring 26, and Tanishq Saini adding 20. However, SBS Academy's bowlers kept the pressure on, with Harshwardhan Yadav taking an impressive 3 wickets for just 10 runs. Aditya Verma and Atharva also chipped in with 2 wickets each, restricting HS Academy's score.
In response, SBS Academy chased down the target comfortably, scoring 123 runs for the loss of only 3 wickets. Key performances came from Vishnu Pandey with 31 runs, Aryan Yadav contributing 22, and Rohit Rajput remaining unbeaten on 36. For his outstanding bowling figures, Harshwardhan Yadav was awarded the Man of the Match.
Kanpur Cricket Academy Secures Win in High-Scoring Encounter
The second cricket match saw Kanpur Cricket Academy take on Kanpur South Cricket Academy. Kanpur South, deciding to bat first, scored 146 runs for 9 wickets in their allotted 35 overs. Tejas Verma, Arpit Rey, and Sarthak Agrawal each scored 26-28 runs, but Siddharth Verma's 4 wickets for 25 runs and Anmol Srivastava's 3 for 18 kept the total in check.
Kanpur Cricket Academy, in reply, achieved the target of 147 runs in 29.5 overs, finishing at 147 for 6. The standout performance came from Sachin Sonkar, who played a match-winning innings of 81 not out, supported by Mohal Rai's 32. Sachin Sonkar's heroic effort earned him the Man of the Match award, leading his team to a 4-wicket victory.
Pickleball Tournament Showcases Doubles Excellence
Simultaneously, a Pickleball tournament was held at TSH Court, attracting participants in both men's and women's doubles events. The men's doubles category saw Kartik Garg and Raghav Bhatia clinch the gold medal, while Satyan Arora and Dhruv Malik secured silver, and Divya Tulsani and Vimanyu Agarwal won bronze.
In the women's doubles, Ishita Kannodia and Rashika Agarwal finished first to claim gold medals, with Nidhi Kannodia and Anubhuti Gupta taking silver. Mala Singh and Seema Saxena earned third place and bronze medals. The matches were officiated in the presence of international player and referee Vaibhav Wavde from Mumbai, adding prestige to the event. Winners received cash prizes as part of the total Rs 1 lakh reward pool.
These tournaments highlight Kanpur's growing sports culture, providing platforms for young athletes to showcase their skills in cricket and emerging sports like Pickleball.
