ADIB Staff Cricket Cup race hots up as two Dubai teams secure quarter-final berths

Sport360 staff 10:16 25/02/2020
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  • ADIMAC Tigers and Card United Eleven became the first two sides to book their place in the quarter-final of the ADIB Staff Cricket Cup after the completion of the fourth round.

    The weekend’s action saw Pools One and Two in action at the ICC Academy Ovals in Dubai, with the two aforementioned teams taking one step closer to the AED 15,000 prize money on offer for the tournament winners.

    In Pool One, ADIMAC Tigers continued from where they left off in the previous round by picking up two more victories. This means that the Tigers have now won all four of their matches so far to book their ticket to the quarter-final slated to be held on March 20.

    In Pool Two, Card United Eleven kept up their perfect campaign as well, with their victory over Avengers sealing their place in the last-eight.

    In the first clash of the day, Dubai Retail Ops Champs prevailed over ADIB HF Warriors by five wickets. An impressive show with the bat was at the forefront of their victory as they chased down a challenging target of 107 with relative ease.

    Next up, Team Stallions registered their first points on the board in the tournament after being handed a forfeit by Auto Champs.

    The post-lunch proceedings saw ADIMAC Tigers take on Dubai Retail Ops Champs in a top of the table clash, with the former ultimately reigning supreme. The Tigers triumphed by 29 runs in the match after a disciplined show by their bowlers saw them restrict Dubai Retail Ops Champs to just 87-2 in their 10 overs.

    “The luck went with as we won our first toss in the matches and selected to bat first,” Tigers’ Habib Khan stated after the clash.

    “We decided to put some pressure by setting a big target on the board but unfortunately ended up setting up a target of 117 for DR Ops who won all their three matches before playing us. Our bowlers outplayed the DR Ops batting by restricting them within 90 runs in 10 overs and winning the match for us which made us to qualify for the quarter-final in Abu Dhabi.

    “Looking forward to give our best and to win the tournament for our team.”

    The Pool One proceedings for the day were rounded up by two forfeits, with ADIB HF Warriors and ADIMAC Tigers being the teams to profit.

    Meanwhile in Pool Two, Dubai AOS Tigers started off in sublime fashion with victory over the Avengers. Chasing a target of 115, AOS Tigers knocked off the required runs with three wickets to spare.

    A commanding show with the bat then made it back-to-back wins for the AOS Tigers as they outclassed ADIB’s 11 Musketeers by 48 runs.

    The last clash of the day saw Card United Eleven score a decisive win over the Avengers to advance to the quarter-final. The Avengers did well to post a total of 123-3, but it wasn’t enough to stop Card United Eleven who hunted down the target at the loss of just two wickets.

    “It was a wonderful experience in a pleasant atmosphere,” Waheed Ahmed Khan of Card United Eleven said after the win.

    “We won the match with the loss of two wickets only and chased down 124 in 9.1 overs to qualify for the quarter-final, Allhamdulillah.

    “It’s a great initiative by ADIB and is one of the much awaited activities for the staff. We are really enjoying it and wish we have more such activities in the future.”

    While there was plenty to celebrate for ADIMAC Tigers and Card United Eleven, it was a bitter pill to swallow for Dubai AOS Tigers who crashed out despite registering two victories on the day. Ultimately, their defeat to Card United Eleven in the previous round cost them a spot in the quarter-final.

    Despite the disappointment, AOS Tigers’ Irfan Hiader was a satisfied man.

    “My team’s performance was great especially my all-rounder Mazhar Sattar,” he said at the end of the round.

    “He scored 54 runs in the first match and picked six wickets while in the second he scored 64 runs with two wickets. Without other players’ effort you can’t win, but I think we have not qualified due to the first match which we lost as we did not have a good experience for the grass pitch.

    “However, I proudly can say we played a good game with good players. InshAllah, if we play next time we will be the best. We are thankful to CSR team and ADIB management for the wonderful initiative which they have taken and we are proud to say that we are the employees of ADIB.”

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