Dubai. The ongoing Indian Junior Players League (IJPL) produced many surprises with top cricket centres such as Delhi and Mumbai being beaten at the Dubai International stadium. The talented cricketers from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh beat Mumbai and Delhi respectively. The tournament is being held here following India’s biggest grassroot talent hunt for upcoming cricketers in the under-18 category from even the remotest places in India, recognised by the School Games Federation of India.

However, the most impressive team has been Rajasthan Roarers. They lived up to their team name and roared into the quarter-finals beating Haryana Hurricanes by 33 runs to top the D group.

In another match, MP Warriors trounced Delhi Dashers by nine wickets to register the biggest win of the tournament so far. Delhi Dashers were bowled out for just 56 runs in 15 overs. MP won in just 10.1 overs losing one wicket riding on Anmol Maheshsram’s 48 runs off 45 deliveries. 
The architects of Rajasthan’s win were the opening pair of Younus Ali (41 runs off 26 balls) and Keshav Sharma (33 runs off 33 balls). They posted 78 runs scoring at nine runs per over.

Hurricanes folded up for 101 runs in 19.1 overs mainly due to a deadly spell from Anshul Choudhary. He picked four wickets for 22. 
Meanwhile UP Heroes trounced Mumbai Masters by six wickets. Chasing a target of 99 runs to win, UP Heroes reached the required mark, losing just four wickets in 15 overs. Ajay Lakra impressed once again with his all-round performance, scoring 24 runs off 33 deliveries and taking two wickets for 13 runs.

Pune Panthers advanced beating Kolkata Strikers by six wickets on Thursday.

Brief scores:

Rajasthan Roarers 133 for 6 in 20 overs (Younus Ali 41, Keshav Sharma 33; Kaliramna 2 for 30, Abhinav 2 for 33) bt Haryana Hurricanes 101 all out in 19.1 overs (S. Bhankur 28 runs, Anshul Choudhury 4 for 22, Tanwar 3 for 20).

Delhi Dashers 57 in 15 overs (T. Chanda 3 for 1, M. Prakhar 2 for 1, T. Chettri 2 for 15) lost to MP Warriors 59 for 1 in 10.1 overs (Anmol Maheshram 48)

Mumbai Masters 98 in 19.3 overs (Nagpal 27 runs, Bhartiya 23 runs; Adib 2 for 6, A. Lakra 2 for 13. S. Bhati 2 for 16) lost to UP Heroes 99 for 4 in 15 overs (A. Lakra 24, S. Priyanshu 23).

Kolkata Strikers 129 for 6 in 20 overs lost to Pune Panthers 130 for 4 in 20 overs.

MP Warriors 68 in 17.2 overs lost to Haryana Hurricanes 70 for 3 in 10.2 overs

Chennai Champs 68 in 19.3 overs lost to Dehradun Rockers 69 for 3 in 14.1 overs.