Man of the match Aryan Lakra stepped up to deliver a tremendous display as DPS Falcons under-13s beat JSSIS Super Kings by 56 runs at Dubai Men’s College on Friday.
Lakra scored 69 runs from 51 balls and was a constant threat to the opposition. He was well supported by Milind Dongre (22* off 24) and Nilansh Keswani.
DPS elected to bat first and posted a score of 123/2 after their 15 overs.
In reply, JSSIS scored 68/7 but were unable to force a breakthrough as Lakra took three quick wickets for five runs.
JSSIS’ best players were Slade Sudhakaran (16 off 17) and captain Karthik Nair.
Coach Prosanta Chanda believes the confidence amongst the young DPS team is continuing to grow.
"Were doing the right things at the moment and that's why we are winning games," he said.
Lakra said keeping patient in the first innings was the difference to DPS’s win.
"We just tried to stay calm and get the runs because we knew we were batting well."
In Friday's other under-13 fixture, DC Sixers consigned Repton Royals to their third defeat in a row with a nine wicket victory.
The game was won in the eighth over of the second innings as DC Sixers chased 41/4. Their stand out men were man-of-the-match Wajih Zaman (35 off 24) and the impressive Pranav Nanda (14 off 16).
A well-drilled and organised JSS Blitz under-15s team produced a magnificent first innings to beat TMS Amateurs by six wickets.
TMS elected to bat first and posted a score of 86/8 at the end of the first innings.
Mohammed Saleh Shaksi (13 off 29) and man-of-the-match Shashank Jagannathan (8 runs off 18) played well for the losing TMS team.
Chasing 87, JSS rose to the occasion in the second innings with Vriitya Aravind (24* off 40), Lahal Shafad Ahamed (15 off 28) and Ayush Shah performing well.
It was a brilliant team performance for JSS with coach Nisha Ali to thank for a large part of the success.
Nisha is no stranger to the cricket fields either as she lined up as opening batswoman for Dehli state until 2009.
Reflecting on the win, Nisha is delighted that the hard work has paid off.
"We've been training hard and getting together as much as we can so its good to see everything is coming together," she said.
Star men in Dubai
Aryan Lakra (DPS Falcons under-13s): Aryan was the most impressive performer of the day in Dubai. This is his second man of the match in as many weeks as the DPS opening batsman continues to impress in the NSL. He hit a magnificent 69 runs from 51 balls, and took three wickets.
Shashank Jagannathan (TMS Amateurs under-15s) – Despite finishing on the losing team, Shashank led by example against JSS Blitz. He scored 8 runs from 18 balls and took two wickets in a fantastic display.
Wajih Zaman (DC Sixers under-13s): Chasing 41/4, Wajih stepped up and dominated the second innings for DC Sixers. He scored 35 off 24, including five boundaries and his sheer leadership encouraged his team mates to win the game.
