The former India U-19 winning captain, Unmukt Chand led Silicon Valley Strikers has won the inaugural Minor League cricket Tournament, defeating New Jersey Stallions by six wickets in the finals at scenic Church Street Park in Morrisville, NC. on Wednesday. Former Windies batsman Narsingh Deonarine, who scored 52 off 43 balls was named man of the match in the finals.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, the New Jersey Stallions got off to a great start, scoring 44 runs from the first five overs. Dominique Rikhi (42 from 33 balls) and Sai Mukkamalla (31 from 27) added 60 runs for the second wicket and put Stallions in the commanding position. However, an excellent spell from Kulvinder Singh and Saurabh Netravalkar restricted New Jersey to a total of 141/10 in 20 overs.
In reply, Strikers began the chase in blistering fashion, scoring 45 runs from the first five overs. Both the openers, Rahul Jariwala(22 off 17 balls) and Unmukt Chand(21 off 12 balls) gave Strikers a good start. But lost 3 wickets in quick succession and was reduced to 53 for 3 in 5.2 overs. A superb half-century by former West Indies batsman Narsingh Deonarine (52 from 43 balls), and a quick 31 off 25 balls from Roshon Primus helped Strikers to win the inaugural Minor League Cricket championship.
Unmukt Chand – The leading run scorer in the tournament
Unmukt Chand, who announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in India then signed a deal with Silicon Valley Strikers for the 2021 season. The 28-year-old had a dream run in the inaugural season of the Minor Cricket League. He scored 591 runs in 15 innings at a staggering average of 53.33, with a strike rate of 123.90, including a match-winning hundred in the semis. Earlier in the semifinals, the U19 winning captain smashed 132 runs in just 69 balls against Golden State Grizzlies and helped his side to reach the finals.
Chand’s biggest moment of his career came when he lifted the U-19 World Cup Trophy in 2012. He scored an unbeaten knock of 111 in the final of the tournament against Australia and helped India to pull off the victory. He even earned high praise from Australian great Ian Chappell for his stellar innings in the finals. Overall, Chand played 67 first-class games, scoring 3379 runs at an average of 31.57. In List A cricket, he scored 4505 runs at an average of 41.33 in 120 matches. And in the T20s, he had a healthy strike rate of 116.09 with 1565 runs in 77 games.
Chand signed a multi-year agreement with Major League Cricket to support the development of the game in the US. Along with playing, he was also seen mentoring the next generation of American cricketers.
