Man of the Match Pankaj Tamuly receives his award from Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi. Picture by Eastern Projections

S.P Barooah Trophy

Guwahati, Oct. 9: Secretary XI lifted the first S.P. Barooah Challenger Trophy, defeating Assam-B by 50 runs on the last day of the three-day final at Nehru Stadium here today.

Resuming at overnight 95 for three, Secretary XI were out for 137 in 58.1 overs in their second innings today. Chasing 217 runs, Assam-B were all out for 166 in 59.4 overs.

Secretary XI suffered a jolt when overnight batsman Jason Lamare was bowled by paceman Pritam Das after he added only one run to his overnight 44. Lamare topscored for the side with 45.

Bhaskar Jyoti Barman added four more wickets for 39 runs to his tally in the meet, while Ryan Ninan took three for 24. Mark Ingty dismissed two, conceding 33 runs.

The post-lunch session saw a top-order collapse in the Assam-B line-up as three wickets fell with only 47 runs on the scoreboard.

Southpaw opener Abhijit Singha Roy and Sumit Ranjan Das shared a 33-run fourth wicket partnership to stem the innings. Mukut Kalita also shared a 24-run fifth wicket partnership with Das.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Mriganka Jyoti Sarma and tailender Uttam Nayak shared a 46-run stand. Sarma remained unbeaten on 25.

Left-arm spinner Bikram Chetry scalped three for 30, while paceman Sujay Tarafdar and offie Tazinder Singh shared two each for 30 and 18 respectively.

Pankaj Tamuly of Secretary XI, who claimed four wickets and scored 48 runs in the match, was adjudged Man of the Match for a trophy and a cash prize of Rs 1,500, sponsored by former first-class cricketer Rajesh Borah.

Bhaskar Jyoti Barman of Assam-B, who finished with 23 wickets, was named Man of the Tournament to win the Badan Saikia Trophy and Rs 5,000 in cash, sponsored by first-class player Subhrajit Saikia.

Conferring the prizes, chief minister Tarun Gogoi appreciated the efforts of the Assam Cricket Association in promoting cricket in the state.