Vishnu Menon smashed a blistering 161 for The Cambridge High School as they booked their passage to the semi-finals of the UAE Xchange Under-12 Abu Dhabi School League.
Venon’s 86-ball knock not only helped his team beat Abu Dhabi Indian School (ADIS) by 101 runs but took them to the summit of Group B at the end of the group stage at Zayed Cricket Academy grounds.
They now face Sunrise while defending champions Bright Riders will now meet Bhavans, who edged out ADIS on a superior run rate after all three teams in their group were tied on equal points.
Opening the innings, Venon was in fine format at the crease, smashing 28 fours and two sixes as Cambridge reached a mammoth total of 213-4 in their 20 overs.
In reply, ADIS could only muster 112-4 with Pratham Seetharam falling short of a half century by one run.
Earlier in the week, ADIS had bounced to defeat Bhavans by 27 runs. Elanchezhian Kaviyan produced a fine all-round performance for ADIS with an unbeaten 54-ball 42-run knock before showcasing his potential with the ball with a superb five-wicket haul.
Meanwhile, in the U-14 competition, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Pakistan School began their title defence on a winning note with a 36-run victory over Bright Riders.
Haji ur Rahman was the man in form, hitting four sixes and three fours in an entertaining 24-ball unbeaten 51 while Anwar Khan struck 31 as Pakistan School reached 153-8 in their allotted 20 overs.
Meanwhile, Sameer Vijay smashed a fine half century and grabbed two wickets for Model School to open their campaign with victory over Merryland by 12 runs.
He anchored the innings with a well-compiled 57 off 47 balls which included five boundaries and was well supported by Rahul Alokkan (18), Mohammed Yousuf (17) and Sahal Siddik (13), who chipped in with useful contributions to reach 130-7.
In another match, half centuries from Khaja Saifuddin (59no) and Essam Ahmed (58no) set the platform for Emirates Future International as they registered a 16-run ttriumph over Bhavans.
