ABID Staff Cricket Cup tournament leaves participants enthused

David Cooper - Writer 14:11 16/02/2020
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  • The ADIB Staff Cricket Tournament returned to Abu Dhabi over the weekend with Pools Three and Five getting a taste of the action.

    The tournament which sees the winner cash a lucrative sum of AED 15,000 has seen some enthralling action since it got under way last month, and the latest round proved to be no different.

    Eight teams out of the 30 in total were in action on the weekend at the Abu Dhabi Cricket Club, with DSU Daredevils and DTS Lions emerging as the early frontrunners from their respective pools.

    Both teams garnered two victories apiece on the day and have put themselves into excellent positions to qualify for the quarter-finals.

    The day kicked off with the ADIB Brothers registering a thumping six-wicket win over the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders on Pitch 1. In the second Pool Three clash of the day, DSU Daredevils rode on a disciplined bowling display to beat the Flyers by three wickets.

    In the final Pool Three clash on Pitch 1, Daredevils made it two wins in a row after thoroughly outclassing the Knight Riders by seven wickets.

    Meanwhile in Pool Five, DTS Lions got proceedings under way with a seven-wicket thrashing of FCD Challengers. Knight Riders had done well to post a total of 123-4 in their allotted overs, but were unable to defend that total with the ball to register their first loss.

    In another high-scoring encounter in Pool Five, Prime 11 chased down a mammoth target of 154 against IT Falcons with four wickets to spare.

    The final Pool Five clash of the day saw the Falcons fall to a second consecutive defeat after being restricted to 93-7 with the bat. That total wasn’t enough to stop the charge of DTS Lions who clinched victory by three wickets.

    While there might have been winners and losers on the day, cricket was the winner with participants thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to play in a professionally organised tournament.

    “Experience was wonderful. Honestly if 1 is worst and 10 is best, I will give it 8 out of 10,” said Shahan Raza of Prime 11.

    “Initiative is extremely good. They should more frequently organize such events ideally once in a year for cricket and football.”

    Adeeb Madathil of the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders echoed Raza’s sentiments.

    “Thanks for CSR and ADIB for arranging a wonderful and stimulating event of cricket and thank you for your generosity in organizing such a big event for sports lovers in ADIB,” he remarked.

    “I’m hoping that there will be another ADIB Staff Cricket Cup in 2021,” Madathil added.

    Denny Destinold of ADIB Brothers has similar views on the experience after his team’s first taste of the action.

    “Had an awesome experience overall, it was well planned and executed,” he stated.

    “Team experience was just amazing even though we didn’t have any practice on the tape ball.

    “Best wishes for the upcoming days and appreciate the efforts which CSR initiates for these activities.”

    The tournament now moves to Dubai for the upcoming weekend and will return to Abu Dhabi on February 21 with Pools Three and Four in action.

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