Zafri powers Dubai English Speaking College to win

Dubai: Skipper Zafri Zafardeen single-handedly guided Dubai English Speaking College (DESC) to victory over the fancied Dubai College in the final of the Under-13 Dubai Schools Cricket League held at the Repton School last week.

Batting first, DESC got off to a decent start but struggled to maintain the run flow until skipper Zafri walked in to bat.

He kick-started the innings with a thumping 42 not out from 20 balls including 24 runs off one over.

DESC ended up with 131 off their allotted 15 overs and Dubai College made a feast of it and looked on course for an easy win having made 100 for 1 in 10 overs.

However, DESC made a strong come back with a couple of miserly over's from the opponents and with seven runs needed off the last over, Zafri held his nerve to bowl a thrilling final over giving away 6 runs to end the game in a dramatic tie.

In a one-off super over to decide the winners — DESC batted first and once again skipper Zafri swung the game with two massive sixes off the first two balls, ending with 16 off the over. Zafri came back to haunt Dubai College, giving away just six runs off his accurate over to lead his team to a maiden tournament victory.

Scores

• DESC 131 for 6 (Zafri 42 n.o., Fazil 21, Saif 20)
• Dubai College 131 for 1 (Gerard 40 n.o., Adil 17)
• Super over DESC 16 for 0 (Zafri 15 n.o.)
• Dubai College 6 for 0