Punjab Under 23 Team Beat Gujarat In The Finals At Kolkata
In the final of the men’s U-23 state A trophy held at the JU Second Campus in Kolkata on Friday, Punjab Under 23 triumphed over Gujarat by 56 runs, thanks to impressive performances from Harnoor Pannu (100 off 103), Ridham Satyawan (68 off 39), and Uday Saharan (59 off 75).
Guided by former India Test cricketer VRV Singh and captained by Uday Saharan, the erstwhile captain of the India U-19 World Cup (2024) squad, Punjab had earlier defeated Haryana in the semi-finals, where Harnoor Pannu also shone with a century.
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Punjab batted first on Friday, scoring a total of 317 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in 50 overs. In their chase, Gujarat was bowled out for 261 runs in 47.1 overs, with Ayush (3/51) and Aryaman Dhaliwal (3/36) being the standout bowlers for Punjab. For Gujarat, Arya Desai (76) and Priyesh (63) contributed the most runs.
Harnoor Pannu, a left-handed opener and part of the India U-19 World Cup team in 2022, switched from the UT Cricket Association to the Punjab Cricket Association at the beginning of the 2024-25 season. This move proved to be highly beneficial for him, as he not only received the Player of the Match award but also secured the Player of the Tournament honors for accumulating 497 runs. It is worth noting that he was also named Player of the Tournament during the PCA’s T20 Sher-e-Punjab Trophy in 2024.
Renowned for his power-hitting abilities, the 21-year-old from Jalandhar was acquired by Punjab Kings (PBKS) for a base price of ₹30 lakh at the previous year’s IPL auction in Jeddah. He had previously played for PCA in the U-16s but transitioned to UTCA in 2019 when it gained BCCI affiliation.
The Punjab Cricket Association announced a cash prize of ₹25 lakh for the team, matching the BCCI’s financial reward for the championship. “This title highlights the talent present in Punjab. VRV Singh and the players deserve all the accolades, and we are optimistic about the team also winning the Under 23 four-day CK Nayudu title,” remarked PCA secretary Dilsher Khanna.
