Sharjah: Chirag Suri, the UAE’s promising top order batsman named among the 30 probables for the ICC World Cup, cracked a breezy century to prove that he is in top form in the build-up to the showpiece.
Nineteen-year-old Suri cracked 117 runs from 118 balls in the popular Al Dhaid Gold Cup tournament, organised by the Sharjah Cricket Council, to steer Team Interface to an emphatic 131-run win over Unicon.
Speaking to Gulf News after his knock, Suri said: “My aim is to keep scoring as many runs as possible and be on the reckoning for the World Cup as I am already part of the 30 players for the mega event. It feels nice to be in touch and play a good knock.”
Suri picked his shots well and cracked 14 boundaries. He was accompanied by Abid Chaudry, who was in an aggressive mood to fire a 51-ball 76 including 10 boundaries and a six.
“I have been following the advice from my coaches to pick the right ball to hit and that is yielding huge results,” said Suri, who had been among runs in the recent Kerala Premier League, Max Talent Inter-University tournament and also in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Under-19 World Cup match in February this year.
Suri, who had once scored unbeaten knocks of 125, 108, 109 and 101 in the Sandeep Bhatavia tournament, shared a 174-run partnership for the third wicket with Chaudry to help Interface post 278 in 38.2 overs.
Chasing the tough target, Unicon received early jolt when they lost Naseeb Ullah and Shaid Noor for ducks. Sajjad Hussain scored a brisk 25 from 21 balls before another few wickets were lost to some Anil Adnanj and Hafiz Kaleem, who both took four wickets each. Unicon were bundled out for 147 in 29.4 overs.
Suri, who idolises India’s Virat Kohli, believes that the best way to get noticed is to score runs and be focused on the job in hand. “I will work harder to make a name in the game like him [Kohli],” said Suri, who is sharpening his batting skills now under the watchful eyes of UAE coach Aaqib Javed and batting coach Mudassar Nazar.
