Franco T20 cricket
Tura, April 19: Win Wiary, Shillong, defeated Northern United Cricket Club, Tura, in the final match of the Franco T20 blast cricket tournament at Alotgre stadium here on Monday.
Win Wiary opted to bat and scored 139 runs for the loss of seven wickets in 20 overs.
In reply, Northern United Cricket Club, Tura, were restricted to 84 runs in 19 overs.
Suraj Chetry of Win Wiary was declared the Man of the Match for bagging four wickets and scoring 15 runs. All the top honours went to Win Wiary, including Debraj Shrestha, who was adjudged the best batsman, Anish Charak the best bowler and Rohit Rai the Man of the Series.
Altogether 20 teams took part in the third edition of the tournament, organised by Northern United Club, Tura, in collaboration with the Tura District Cricket Association (TDCA).
The tournament is held in memory of Franco Arengh, a young cricketer who passed away in 2012. Franco had contributed to the promotion of cricket in Tura.
Franco's father Corlette Shira gave away the trophy and cash prize to the winning team. Former president of Meghalaya Cricket Association and BJP leader Billikid A. Sangma, former cricketer Arup Nag and TDCA advisor Bruce P. Marak also attended the prize distribution ceremony.
Addressing the gathering, Shira thanked the organisers for keeping the name of his son alive by organising the tournament and promoting cricket in a big way.
"We need to promote cricket in a big way in Garo hills. We have lots of talent in this part of the world. They have to be honed and given scope to play more. I would take up the matter with BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur for promoting cricket in Garo hills," said Billikid.
He said Alotgre stadium in Tura is one of the best in Meghalaya and BCCI should accord facilities to give the stadium a much-needed facelift.
"We are trying our level best to promote talented cricketers in Tura. If we get support from different stakeholders, we will be able to do more in the field of cricket in Garo hills," said Chongkim Sangma, secretary of Northern United Cricket Club, Tura.
