Dubai: The Dubai Cricket Council (DCC) will stage popular Twenty20 tournament the Debonair Pizza Twenty20 Cricket Cup from February 24 — the second edition of the tournament, which will be staged at the new Fairgrounds Oval.
“We will be hosting the second edition following the huge success of the event last year. Twelve top teams from all over the UAE will compete for the title,” said Mohammad Lokhandwala, the secretary of the DCC to Gulf News after conducting the draw.
“To enable cricketers to play after their daily job, all the matches will commence from 7.30pm under the floodlights. Teams have been divided into three groups and coloured clothing will be provided for all the players. We hope to complete the tournament in one month’s time.”
DCC officials made the draw in the presence of sponsors Mandeep Pujji and Niranjan Mandhani, who have assured continued support for the tournament.
Yogi Group were the champions of the first edition, defeating a star-studded Fly Emirates team in an exciting final. Shiva Pagarani, the captain of the Yogi Group and a DCC member, said: “We ended the season last year with the Debonair Pizza Cup following our victory in the Sharjah Ramadan Cup and finishing as runners-up in the UBL Twenty20 Cup in Abu Dhabi. We hope to extend our good show.”
Yogi Group have been placed in Group C with last year’s runners-up Fly Emirates, Alubond Tigers and Dubai Lions. Group B is made up of Phoenix Medicines, Farooq CC, Abu Dhabi Gymkhana and Ibsons, while Group A contains Wings XI, Team Interface, Seven Seas Strikers and Danube Lions.
“Eighteen league matches will be held, with the top two from each group going into the knockout stage. The team with the best run-rate will go into the final and the remaining will play in the semi-finals for the other final spot.
Man of the match winners and the player with highest number of sixes will be represented with Roti Mum and Debonair Pizza vouchers.
