Heriot-Watt make it hat-trick of wins in Red Bull Campus Cricket UAE Qualifiers

Sport360 staff 10:37 24/08/2017
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  • Heriot-Watt made it hat-trick of wins in the UAE national qualifiers of the Red Bull Campus Cricket after outclassing Bits Pilani.

    Their reward is a ticket to Sri Lanka to represent the UAE at the World Finals, where they will take on Australia, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, India, Pakistan and South Africa for a chance to be crowned champions.

    At Ajman Mumbai Cricket ground, Bits Pilani elected to bat first but captain Ishant was left to rue the decision after losing two wickets in the first two overs.

    Apart from Pawan and Yasaswi who offered some resistance with 25 and 52 runs respectively, wickets continued to fall with Bits Pilani all out for 117. UAE international Chirag Suri, who was bought by Gujarat Lions in the IPL auction in February, showed his class with the ball, after finishing with figures of 3-24.

    The batsman later returned to the crease, by scoring a quick-fire 49 off 25 deliveries, sealing victory for his team within nine overs. Suri was named man of the match and the man of the tournament awards for his all-round performance, as well as the best batsman award for an outstanding campaign throughout the Red Bull Campus Cricket 2017. Ihtisham Sabir was declared best bowler.

    Speaking of the victory, Suri, said: “With this win we are Hat-trick heroes. We won Red Bull Campus Cricket thrice and are honoured to represent the UAE in the final in Sri Lanka.

    “It was not an easy match but with the right spirit and great players we made it happen”.

    Tournament director Brendon Kuruppu, was impressed with what he saw from the teams. “There’s nothing quite like a high-intensity tournament to test the mettle of developing cricketers, and that’s exactly what the Campus Cricket World Final is,” he said. “You learn and improve from playing against the best. This tournament is a wonderful opportunity for players to pick each other’s brains and share their own knowledge on the game, while also showing the world what they’ve got.”

    The group stage in the World Finals of the Red Bull Campus Cricket 2017 will place from September 10 to 12 in Colombo. The action will then move from the capital to Galle where the famous Galle International Stadium will host the semi-finals and final. Defending champions, Sri Lanka’s Business Management School are aiming to win successive titles – a feat only previously achieved by Assupol Tuks Cricket (University of Pretoria).

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