Pune: Baleswar Bulls defeated Cuttack Cruisers by 52 runs in the final match on Sunday to win the first Utkal Premier League (UPL)-2018 cricket tournament.
The tournament was organised by Utkal Samaj Pune- a group run by non-resident Odias at Annasaheb Magar Stadium, Pimpri near Pune.
While batting first, the Bulls scored 113/4 with Sarat and Jyoti scoring 38 and 34 runs respectively to reach a decent total.
Chasing 114 to win, the Cruisers were bowled out for a miniscule total of 61 runs. Bulls bowler Ashish took a fifer including a hat-trick and was declared Man of the Match for his splendid performance.
Cruisers batsman Alok was declared Best batsman and Man of the Tournament while Ashish bagged the Best Bowler award. The Best Fielder of the league award was given to Rourkela Rangers' player Basant.
In total, six teams-- Sambalpur Samurais, Baleswar Bulls, Rourkela Rangers, Bramhapur Blasters, Cuttack Cruisers and Bhubaneswar Jaguars played in the first ever league where the matches were played only in the weekends.
UPL was inaugurated on May 26 and concluded yesterday. The sports wing of Utkal Samaj informed that the next season of UPL will be played in November this year.