Kanpur witnessed an exciting day of sports action on Friday with the JNT U-12 cricket tournament and Cantonment Centenary football championship taking center stage. At the Kanpur South ground, Liverpool XI edged out Perf XI by a narrow margin of 3 runs in a thrilling cricket encounter. Opting to bat first, Liverpool XI posted a competitive total of 165 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in their allotted overs. Opener Rupesh top-scored with a solid 41 runs, while Prince contributed 24 runs and Advik Mishra added 18 runs. Subh and Yashasvee chipped in with 14 runs each. For Perf XI, Surya Dev Yadav was the pick of the bowlers, claiming 3 wickets for 31 runs, while Viraj Dwivedi took 2 for 21.
Perf XI's Valiant Chase Falls Short
In response, Perf XI fought hard but fell just short, managing 162 runs for 8 wickets. Vedansh played a magnificent unbeaten knock of 88 runs, which included 9 boundaries and 2 sixes, keeping his team in the hunt. Aditya Raj supported with 24 runs. However, the Liverpool XI bowlers held their nerve. Shivansh Pratap and Priyansh bagged two wickets each, with Shivansh recording figures of 2 for 24 and Priyansh 2 for 25. Aarish Shah, Rachit Yadav, and Aviral Anand each took one wicket. Shivansh Pratap Singh was named Man of the Match for his all-round contribution.
Oliver Brown XI Triumphs in Another Match
In another match played at the Kanpur South B ground, Oliver Brown XI defeated Sigma Griplock XI by 5 wickets. Batting first, Sigma Griplock XI posted 154 runs for 3 wickets, thanks to Krishna Yadav's unbeaten 54 runs and Vishnu Pandey's 47 not out. Rahul Raj Singh made 15 and Aditya Yadav added 18. For Oliver Brown, Krishiv Kulshrestha took 2 wickets for 24 runs, while Yuvraj Singh claimed one. In reply, Oliver Brown reached 156 for 5, with Arjun Singh remaining unbeaten on 48 runs. Virat Singh scored 33, Vedant Bajpai made 23, and Arnav Katiyar contributed 18. Devansh Tripathi remained not out on 10. Devansh Dubey took 2 wickets for 17 runs for Sigma Griplock. Arjun Singh was awarded Man of the Match.
Cantonment Centenary Football Championship Kicks Off
Meanwhile, the Cantonment Centenary football 7-a-side championship began with a one-sided match under floodlights. Y King FC outplayed Matchless FC by a convincing 5-2 scoreline. For the winners, Ritesh scored a brace with two goals, while Vihan, Rishabh, and Suryansh each found the net once. For Matchless FC, Shan and Suharle scored one goal each. In another match, Super Striker edged past Jajmau FC 5-3 in a penalty shootout after the match ended in a draw. Jajmau FC's Jibran and Isa scored one goal each. In the last ten minutes, Abhishek Thapa struck twice to bring his team level, forcing the tie into penalties. Super Striker held their nerve to win the shootout. The tournament was inaugurated by Ajit Singh of the District Football Association.
