Dubai: Al Jabeen Heroes finally earned a Ramadan cricket title this season by winning the prestigious Dubai Cricket Council second Interface Transworld Ramadan Cup 30-over tournament.
The Heroes had made a huge impact with their sterling performances in the Sharjah and Al Dhaid Ramadan tournaments, but were unlucky to lose by small margins.
In the Dubai final at the Fairground Oval, they proved that luck does not desert those who are determined and beat Interface Transworld by five runs to lift the cup and walk away with the Dh30,000 prize money.
The hero among the Al Jabeen Heroes is their team owner Shams Abbas, known as ‘Lucky’, who believed fortune would favour them and inspired confidence in his players.
Abbas told Gulf News: “I am known by my nickname Lucky but we have been losing too many close matches, especially in the last over, but I kept giving confidence to my players and we turned the tables in the Dubai Ramadan final. It was a reward for our persistence ever since we started playing in A division tournaments.”
Al Jabeen’s on-field hero was all-rounder Sultan Ansari, who not only cracked 55 off 51 balls with four boundaries and two sixes, but also bagged five wickets for 33 runs to put the brakes on Interface’s run chase.
Electing to bat first after winning the toss, Al Jabeen lost opener Amit Verma early, but the consistent Yaqoob Masish and Praveen Yadav put on 40 together. Interface’s Jagrit Anand dismissed Masish for 30, but Praveen went on to put on another 75 with Ansari and top score with 63 off 70 balls with three boundaries and two sixes.
Interface chased brilliantly through Bilal Irshad’s 72 and Pradeep Malik’s 54, before Ansari upset their plans.
“We used to participate only on cement track tournaments in Umm Al Quwain and Ajman. In 2012, we won the Al Dhaid Ramadan tournament but, through a creditable performance in Ramadan matches this year, we have made everyone take notice of us. This victory will give us the confidence to win more tournaments,” added Abbas.
