Luthra & Luthra has won this year’s Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) – Khushal T-20 cricket tournament against Amarchand Mangaldas in an exciting finish to a close match that was held yesterday night in Delhi after the semi-finals of Saturday.

Amarchand decided to bat first after winning the toss and set a 166 target for Luthra to which the winning team responded by scoring 168 runs for the loss of four wickets by the last over. Man of the match Prashant Mishra scored 69 runs in 45 balls.

Luthra & Luthra managing partner Rajiv Luthra said: “I was delighted to see our team perform with same passion as they do off the field and we were truly bowled over by Amarchand’s sporting spirit.”

Meanwhile, captain of the team Amaresh Singh felt elated and said that was sheer passion to win for the firm that motivated them.

“Normally we have very long working hours and it’s very difficult to get those eleven players to come together and practice,” he told Legally India.

Singh added: “We also displayed fabulous camaraderie amongst ourselves and with the other teams. Yesterday’s match was very exciting and we faced tough opponents who were well equipped, organised and talented.

We hope to retain the trophy next year as well, as we firmly believe that - you don’t win the silver, you lose the gold - and we want to win all.”

Man of the match, Prashant Mishra commented: “We had prepared very hard for this tournament.

“Our bowlers played exceedingly well in the last four overs, particularly in the last five overs to restrict them to 166. We also batted some fast runs and managed to score nearly 70 runs in the first six overs, which set the momentum. A score above 180 to 185 could have been difficult to chase.”

Mishra noted: “Both the semi-final and finals matches produced quality competitive cricket and considering also the stature SILF tournament has acquired; all teams were under pressure to do well.”

In the first semi-finals, team Titus suffered defeat at the hands of Luthra & Luthra in the decisive match that pitted the favourites against each other. Luthra & Luthra had scored 191 runs in 20 overs in the first innings, which Titus & Co failed to chase as they ended up with 171 runs.

Luthra player Hitesh Tara, who had played for Suri & Co in the last SILF tournament, was the man of the match for his 49 runs and one wicket taking performance.

Amarchand won the second semi-finals after bowling out Trilegal at 125, which was a score short of 33 runs target of 158 scored by Amarchand. Vaibhav Mishra’s 39 runs and 4 wickets for 23 runs got him the man of the match title.

The audience of yesterday’s grand finale included managing partner Rajiv Luthra, Amarchand partners Shardul Shroff and Pallavi Shroff, SILF chairman Lalit Bhasin, and former Indian cricketer Atul Wassan alongside hordes of supporters from both teams.

The ceremony for the best performance in each category will be held on 4 April in Hotel Lalit under the aegis of SILF. IPL Delhi Daredevil Captain Gautam Gambhir will be the chief guest of the occasion.

The tournament lasted more than a month after starting on 21 February and was organised by former Indian cricketer and Kushal Coaching Club managing trustee Gursharan Singh.

Photo by TC7