The ADIB Staff Cricket Cup tournament picked up steam over the weekend, with the ICC Cricket Academy in Dubai witnessing some enthralling battles between bat and ball.
Participating teams have been divided into seven pools, with Abu Dhabi playing host to five of them while Dubai is the stage for the remaining two.
With lucrative sums of AED 15,000 and AED 10,000 on offer for the winners and runners-up of the tournament respectively, there is plenty to play for the 30 different teams in the fray.
This weekend, it was the turn of Pools 1 and 2 to get their campaigns under way in Dubai and as many as three teams managed to emerge with perfect report cards.
In Pool 1, it was ADIMAC Tigers and Dubai Retail Ops Champions who came racing out of the blocks, with both teams registering two wins apiece to remain unbeaten.
Meanwhile, in Pool 2, it was the Card United Eleven outfit which established the early supremacy with two wins in as many outings.
The day started off with ADIB HF Warriors taking the early honours after a comfortable six-wicket win over Auto Champs. Having restricted their opponents to 105-6, the Warriors had no trouble chasing down the required target to grab the three points on offer.
The second morning clash of the day saw Dubai Retail Ops Champions open their account with a win over Team Stallions. A commanding batting display from the Dubai Retail Ops Champions saw them post 140-3 in their 10 overs, with the Stallions falling 24 runs short in their subsequent reply.
The post-lunch proceedings saw ADIB HF Warriors fall to their first loss with ADIMAC Tigers registering a crushing 44-run victory. Having amassed a staggering 161-4 in their 10 overs, the Tigers restricted the Warriors to 117-6 to claim a big win.
In the second pitch in Pool 2, it was ADIB’s 11 Musketeers who grabbed victory after they posted a total of 123-2 batting first. In reply, the Avengers could only manage 107-7 in their 10 overs to fall to a 16-run defeat.
The prolonged afternoon session saw two more matches being held on the adjacent pitches, with Dubai Retail Ops Champions and Card United Eleven holding on for victories.
Chasing a stiff target of 131 against the Auto Champs, Dubai Retail Ops Champions put on a devastating show with the bat to clinch a nine-wicket win.
On the other pitch, Card United Eleven rode on a dominant bowling display to notch up an equally impressive nine-wicket victory. CU Eleven’s bowlers were magnificent in restricting Dubai AOS Tigers to 83-6, before their batsmen chased down the target with the loss of just a solitary wicket.
There was no time to rest on the laurels for Card United Eleven, who were back in action once again in the evening session. There would be no stopping their winning momentum, however, with the side thumping ADIB’s 11 Musketeers by eight wickets to make it two victories on the trot.
The final Pool 1 match of the day saw ADIMAC Tigers lock horns against Team Stallions and the former ultimately reigned supreme with a seven-wicket win. Having been set a challenging target of 122 by the Stallions, the Tigers’ batsmen had no trouble in scripting a second consecutive victory for their side.
The action now moves back to Abu Dhabi for the coming weekend and will return to Dubai’s ICC Academy on February 14.
