Haryana win Cooch Behar title after 22 years, secure rare double

Haryana won the Cooch Behar Trophy Under-19 first-class domestic tournament after 22 years, beating heavyweights Mumbai on the basis of a first-innings lead at the Eden Gardens, in Kolkata, on Tuesday.

The win underlined their authority at youth level as Haryana achieved a rare double, having earlier won the Vinoo Mankad Trophy one-dayers by defeating Maharashtra by six wickets in October last year.

Under-19 World Cup winner Nishant Sindhu led from the front by slamming a 114-ball 115, while opener Rohan Deshwal (101) and keeper-batter Sarvesh Rohilla (100 not out) also scored centuries to post a massive 437 after opting to bat.

In reply, India U-19 winning medium-pacer Garv Sangwan (5/41) led the bowling show to bundle out Mumbai for 303 and hand his team a decisive first-innings lead of 134 runs.

Haryana then batted through the final day to post 211/5 in their second essay and seal their second Cooch Behar Trophy.

The win also avenged their group stage defeat to Mumbai.

Haryana boasted of three U-19 World Cup winners in skipper Sindhu, Garv Sangwan and keeper-batter Dinesh Bana.

But it was off-spinning all-rounder Mayank Shandilya who became the star performer.

Shandilya, who opened the batting for Haryana, finished as the top run getter with 950 runs from eight matches (3x100, 3x50) with an average of 79.17.

He also returned with 45 wickets at an average of 14.70 to become the second highest wicket-taker of the tournament.

In the quarters, Haryana defeated hosts Bengal by a first-innings lead, while they sealed the final berth with a 141-run win over Jharkhand in the semifinals.

Haryana coach Pankaj Thakur credited the system for their recent success.

It's a result of a proper system in place -- a fair selection process, a dedicated camp that results in producing champion players," Thakur said.

"We are a team of allrounders, everyone bats and also bowls, not just part-timers but serious bowling like Shandilya."

Haryana had defeated Madhya Pradesh to win their maiden Cooch Behar Trophy title in 2000.

Brief Scores: Haryana 437; 122.2 overs (Rohan Deshwal 101, Nishant Sindhu 115, Sarvesh Rohilla 100 not out; Prince Badiani 3/119) and 211/5; 68 overs (Dinesh Rana 62 not out; Suryansh Shedge 3/86).

Mumbai 303; 105.1 overs (Angkrish Raghuvanshi 97; Garv Sangwan 5/41).

Match drawn. Haryana won on first-innings lead.