Both sides travel to The Sevens on Friday with a perfect record and the players will be full of confidence especially after big margin victories in the semi-finals.
Having steered Heros to last season’s title, Ahmed is fully aware what is required to succeed again. But the coach knows it will be much harder this time round, given the threat posed by DPS Sharjah.
“I will not put any pressure on my boys and we will treat this as a normal match,” he said.
“We must not think that this is a final match. We need to play our game and play better than, it’s as simple as that. “But it’s a big final and we’ll respect to DPS Sharjah. They are good side who’ve been playing extremely well and we have played them before (in inter-school tournaments) so we will try to put pressure on them. But it’s important we have luck in this game because we know it will not be easy.”
At his disposal is opener Ronak Panoly, second highest run-scorer with 194 runs, and all-rounder Sidharth Tugnait, who has nine wickets already.
And Ahmed is hoping the pair can make a valuable contribution.
“Ronak and Sidharth are very important and hope they can play a big part. Even if they don’t we have other dangerous players who can do well.”
Meanwhile, DPS Sharjah coach Ayub Iqbal has described the championship decider as his side’s “biggest test” but believes they are more than capable of getting their hands on the trophy.
They will be banking on their bowlers especially after Aditya Manglani (14 wickets), Rishabh Mathur (11), Agni Bala (nine) occupy the top-six spots in the standings.
But while he’s been pleased they’ve excelled in the tournament in their first season in this age group, he wants more from his team.
“I watched Modern Heros semi-final and we will work accordingly to their strengths and weaknesses,” he said. “Our bowling unit is good and we’ll try to restrict them but we know how talented they are. It’s not going to be easy.”
“I still want to see them improve and cut out the errors as I feel they can achieve good things. I’d really like our batsmen to step up and put a good total because that will put pressure on Modern Heros.”
He added: “Without doubt, it’s our biggest test so far and our target is to win the final. But most importantly I want them to enjoy the occasion and play to the best of their abilities.”
