A 25-year-old man was allegedly beaten to death by players of a rival team over dispute during a "friendly cricket match" in Jammu district's Akhnoor area, police said today.

"Some dispute broke out between two teams during a friendly cricket match in Akhnoor belt of Jammu district yesterday which resulted into a scuffle," SSP Jammu Uttam Chand told PTI.

The victim identified as Rakesh Kumar was among the three players who sustained injuries in the scuffle and were admitted to the government medical college hospital here for treatment, where Rakesh succumbed to his injuries, SSP said.

He said that a case has been registered in the Police Station in Akhnoor and two of the accused have been nabbed.

"Two of the accused have been arrested from Katra," he said.

Meanwhile, family members of the victim held a protest and blocked Jammu-Poonch highway for several hours as they demanded action against the accused.

"The protest was called off when senior police and civil administration officers assured them of strict action against the accused," a local resident said.