Wings Ahmedabad Aces reign supreme

Dubai: Wings Ahmedabad Aces team established themselves as superstars in UAE’s domestic cricket by emerging champions of the Dubai Cricket Council’s (DCC) Superstars Twenty20 tournament.

In the final at the Fairground Oval on Friday, Wings overcame Phoenix Medicines Karachi Kings by four wickets. West Indies all-rounder Ryan Hinds steered Wings to victory thanks to an unbeaten 43 after Phoenix picked up quick wickets during the run chase.

Phoenix had posted a challenging 187 for 7 despite Wings skipper Gulboddin Naib’s fine spell of 3 for 33. Though Phoenix put the brakes on Wings’ run chase through Hafiz Kaleem and Shoaib Laghari picking two wickets each, Sajjad Khawarki hit 57 runs off just 34 balls with five sixes and three fours to pull his team close to victory. Hinds, through his breezy 43 which came off just 17 balls with three sixes and four boundaries, helped Wings reach the target with five balls to spare.

Speaking to Gulf News, Neeraj Ramamoorthy, the owner of the Wings team, said: “This tournament was one of highlights of this season and it feels great to win it. We had a good mix of players and they all worked very hard and make it happen. We won the Desert Premier League title in Sharjah, the United Bank Limited tournament in Abu Dhabi, Al Dhaid Gold Cup, and with this victory, we have finished the season on a high note and will strive to become even better.”

For the first time in a UAE tournament, the man of the series was presented with a car. Sharjeel Khan of Phoenix, who scored 283 runs from six matches and bagged four wickets, won a KIA Picanto Car for his all-round performance in the event. Wings received the winner’s cheque of Dh35,000 while Phoenix won Dh20,000.

The event was sponsored by Web Channel, with Yas Sports, Saaiba Restaurant and Danube Buildmart as support sponsors.