JK faced another humiliating defeat in the ongoing Mushtaq Ali T20 trophy event as they were thrashed by Punjab by eight wickets at Nehru Stadium, Kochi on Sunday.
Star studded Punjab side overhauled JK target in 14.3 overs after bundling out JK for 105 runs in the first inning.The spinner duo of Harbhajan Singh and Baltej Singh took six wickets among them on their way to bundle out JK for paltry total. In reply Punjab achieved the required target in 14.3 overs for the loss of only two wickets.
Batting first, JK again failed to fire with the bat as a unit. Though Ian Dev and ever dependable Bandeep Singh showed some resistance but overall team lacked the resolve to stay in the middle. The entire side got out in 19.3 overs. Ian Dev remained unbeaten on 39 while as Bandeep top scored with 40. Rest of the batting line-up failed to reach the double figure mark. For Punjab, Harbhajan and Baltej took three wickets each while as Gurwinder took two wickets.
In reply, pacer Muhammad Muaddasar gave another early break, chipping in with first wicket of Punjab for the score of naught. However, Pargat Singh and Mandeep Singh combined to make sure that Punjab achieves the target easily. They formed a partnership of 97 runs between them before Parvez scalped the wicket of Parbat Singh who scored 44 runs. Mandeep Singh remained unbeaten on 58 runs and carried his side home. From the match, Punjab earned four points while JK got none. It is second successive defeat in the event for JK side being led by Mithun Manhas and has players like Parvez Rasool in the line up. It was JK’s eight straight defeat in the national events. In one day event, JK lost six matches out of six played while in T20 event it was second loss after tasting defeat in opener against Kerala on Saturday.
After a devastating performance in Ranji Trophy and winless outing in one day event, it was being hoped that J&K Cricket Association would take steps that would revive the fortunes of the team. However, when the team was announced, cricket lovers blasted the JKCA for the favoritism in selection. Team would be playing its next match of the event on January 4 against Saurashtra.
Scorecard:
J&K: 105/10 (Bandeep 40, Ian Dev 39*, Harbhajjan 3-wkts)
Punjab: 108/2 (Mandeep 58*, Pargat 44, Parvez 1-wkt)
