Desert Cubs, DPS YTCA win Nissan Gulf Cup titles

In the under-15 final at the ICC Global Academy ground on Friday, Desert Cubs beat Westminster YTCA by six wickets in a match which had to be decided in the last over.

DPS YTCA, meanwhile, put up a brilliant performance to beat DPS Sharjah by a slender three-run margin in a low-scoring final match dominated by the bowlers.

Westminster YTCA opting to bat first were in all sorts of bother as they were kept under tight wraps by the Cubs duo of Nelukshan DeSilva (2 for 6) and Aaron Joseph (2 for 27).

Apart from Shiv Mehra (28), Naseem Khan (28 not out) and Hamza Farhan (18) none of the other batsmen contributed much as Westminster managed to score 109 for seven wickets in 20 overs.

Desert Cubs, in reply, were also tottering after losing three wickets for 35 runs before Nelukshan (33 off 23) and Kulith Rabel (36 off 28) batted sensibly to help Cubs reach 110 for four wickets in 18.5 overs.

Kulith, who took charge after Nelukshan’s dismissal, partnered Aaron Joseph (6) in a crucial unbeaten 36-run partnership.

In the under-13 final, batting first after winning the toss, DPS YTCA were bowled out for a paltry 80 in 17.3 overs. Fazal (31) and Sohail (16) were the only batsmen to reach double figures. Chirag Thakur (three for 12) mopped up the tailenders after Atrash Sharma (2 for 12) and Ayush Khanna (2 for 9) had done some damage.

In reply, chasing a reachable target the DPS Sharjah batsmen made a complete mess of things as they were bundled out for 77 runs in 18 overs.

Only Ayush Khanna showed some resistance with a fighting knock of 21.

Asad Boghani, who was later named the man-of-the-match, claimed two wickets for 10 runs while Sanjosh Satya also claimed a couple of wickets for 9 runs.

BRIEF SCORES:

Under-13 final: DPS YTCA bt DPS Shj by three runs. DPS YTCA 80 all out in 17.3 overs (Fazal 31, Sohail 16; Chirag Thakur 3/12, AyushKhanna 2/9, Atrash Sharma 2/12) vs DPS Sharjah 77 for 9 in 18 overs (Ayush Khanna 21, Tejas Kapoor 10, Dhuruv Bagrikar 10 not out, S Sanjosh 2/9, Asad Bhoghani 2/10). Man-of-the-match: Asad Bhoghani of DPS YTCA.

Under-15 final: Desert Cubs bt Westminster YTCA by 6 wkts. Westminster YTCA 109 for 7 wkts in 20 overs (Shiv Mehra 28, Naeem Khan 28 not out, Hamza Farhann 18; Nelushan DeSilva 2/6, Aaron Joseph 2/27) vs Desert Cubs 110 for 4 in 18.5 overs (Nelukshan DeSilva 33, Kulith Rabel 36, Varuna Parera 15).