Wings Ahmedabad Aces lift inaugural Superstars T20 title

Wings Ahmedabad Aces won the inaugural Superstars T20 Cricket Cup when they defeated Phoenix Medicines Karachi Kings’ in a high-scoring final by four wickets at the Fairground Oval of the Dubai Men’s College on Friday evening.

The tournament was conducted by Dubai Cricket Council (DCC) and supported by Web Channel with Yas Sports, Saaiba Restaurant and Danube Buildmart as support sponsors.

Ahmedabad Aces walked away with the winners’ trophy and a cash award of Dh35,000, while Karachi Kings bagged the runners-up trophy and a cash award of Dh20,000 along with two more awards.

The awards presentation took place immediately after the match and Sharjeel Khan was declared the Man of the Tournament and was presented with a Kia Picanto Car, worth Dh35,000, a first of its kind in a local cricket tournament in the UAE.

The awards were presented by DCC Honorary Secretary, Mohamed Lokhandwala and Abdul Azim Ansari of Web Channel, along with Bilal Sheikh of Yas Sports, Anis Sajan of Danube Buildmart, Sudesh Shinde of Saibaa Restaurant, organiser Rahul Dalwale, DCC officials Farrukh Siddiqui and Gopal Jasapara.

Hafiz Kaleem bagged the Best Bowler's award and a cash award of Dh1,500 while the Best Batsman (trophy and cash award of Dh1,500) went to Aaqib Elyas of Globelink Weststar Kochi Islanders.
 
As expected it turned out into a cracker of a final with both teams, unbeaten till then, giving it their best shot.

Karachi Kings, not wanting to undergo the pressure of chasing in a crunch game, won the toss and elected to bat.

Having scored 187 for 7 from their 20 overs it looked like they had the trophy in their bag.

Such a total against any other side and in a final would have been defendable, but not against Ahmedabad Aces who had scored over 180 in all their previous matches.

And once again they lived up to their expectations by getting those runs for the loss of six wickets.

Despite a half century from Sajjad Khawaraki (57) and good knocks from Gulbadin Naib (33) and Shaiman Butt (28), Wings owe their victory to some lusty hitting in the slog overs from Ryan Hinds.

Ryan slammed 43 runs from just 17 balls with three sixes and four fours as Wings collected 58 runs in the last five overs to seal the match and final.

Karachi Kings had banked on their star batsman Sharjeel Khan to give them a rollicking start. And when he struck two sweetly-timed boundaries, another big score looked in the offing.

Unfortunately he was sent back for an early shower by Dylan Stanley after scoring just 10.
However, Karachi Kings’ other prolific scorer Hafiz Kaleem kept the scorers busy with shots to all corners of the ground.

His knock of 44 from 29 balls with three sixes and four fours bolstered the total from where the middle order capitalised to take the team to a healthy total.

Ayoub Inayat scored 30 from 20 balls (3x6, 1x4), Saqlain Haider chipped in with 22 from 20 and Pervaiz Nazir blasted 20 from 12, while Mohammed Qasim did some slog hitting to remain unbeaten on 24 from 16.

But none of the batsmen could get a half century and that was mainly due to some accurate bowling from Gulbadin Naib (3 for 33) and Sami Ullah (2 for 28).

Wings got off to one of their worst starts in the tournament when both openers Shahzaib Hassan and Ashfaq Ahmed were back in the pavilion with the scoreboard reading 6 for 2.

One-down Sajjad Khawaraki and Shaiman Butt dropped anchor and slowly but gradually got the team out of trouble.

Once they looked set they went for their shots. Sajjad looked in complete control thereafter lofting sixes and fours at will. His 57 came from 34 balls with five maximums and three hits to the fence.

Shaiman contributed 28 from 15 balls with two sixes and two fours.

But once they departed Wings’ hopes rested on skipper Gulbadin Naib who kept it alive till he was at the crease. But once he too departed after scoring 33 from 23 balls (3x6, 1x4) Karachi Kings began to sniff victory.

However, Ryan Hinds nipped in the bud whatever plans the Kings had of a celebration with a power-packed cameo to win the match for Ahmedabad Aces in 19.1 overs.

Brief scores

Final

Wings Ahmedabad Aces beat Phoenix Medicines Karachi Kings by 4 wickets: Karachi Kings 187 for 7 in 20 overs (Hafiz Kaleem 44, Ayoub Inayat 30, Mohammed Qasim 24 no, Saqlain Haider 22, Pervaiz Nazir 20; Gulbadin Naib 3 for 33, Sami Ullah 2-28, Waseem Ashraf 1-16, Dylan Stanley 1-27) Ahmedabad Aces 188 for 6 in 19.1 overs (Sajjad Khawaraki 57, Ryan Hinds 43, Gulbadin Naib 33, Shaiman Butt 28; Hafiz Kaleem 2-36, Shoaib Laghari 2-45, Mohammed Khalil 1-33, Ayoub Inayat 1-38). Man of the match: Gulbadin Naib of Wings Ahmedabad Aces.
 
Other awards:

Best Bowler (trophy and cash award of Dh1,500): Hafiz Kaleem of Phoenix Medicines Karachi Kings.

Best Batsman (trophy and cash award of Dh1,500): Aaqib Elyas of Globelink Weststar Kochi Islanders.

Man of the Tournament (trophy and cash award of Dh2,000 and Kia Picanto Car worth Dh35,000): Sharjeel Khan of Phoenix Medicines Karachi Kings.

Runners-Up (Trophy and cash award of Dh20,000): Adil Mirza, skipper of Phoenix Medicines Karachi Kings.

Winners (trophy and cash award of Dhs 35,000): Neeraj Ramamoorthy and Gulbadin Naib of Wings Ahmedabad Aces.