Abu Dhabi: New Indian Model School made their long journey from Al Ain a winning one, yet the result fell short of earning them a passage in the semi-finals of the UAE Xchange U19 Abu Dhabi School League.
They defeated Abu Dhabi Indian School in the final group game, but finished behind them and the champions Cambridge High School on the net run-rate after all three teams finished on four points each.
ADIS taking first lease of the wicket posted 139 for six and NIMS-Al Ain had to score those runs in 13 overs to finish second ahead of Cambridge. They could only reach that target after losing a flurry of wickets when going hell-for-leather.
Usama Salim top scored for NIMS-Al Ain with 54 from 29 balls before the last pair Arbaz Khan (16 not out) and Waseemullah Khan (8 not out) saw them through in 18.2 overs at the Abu Dhabi Cricket Council Nursery Oval-2.
Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Pakistan School were given a bit of a scare before pulling it off from Shining Star International by four wickets in a low scoring game at the adjoining Oval-1.
Umar Khan and Rehan Azam took six wickets between them to bowl out Shining Star for 59. Sindhunil Abdul and Mohammad Rihan grabbed five wickets between them for Shining Star.
Brief Scores: Under 19: New Indian Model School-Al Ain bt Abu Dhabi Indian School by one wicket. Abu Dhabi Indian School 139 for 6 in 20 overs (Sidharth Ramesh 42 not out, Sahil Hariani 25, Fayaz Noor 3-15, Naeemullah Khan 2-6). New Indian Model School-Al Ain 142 for 9 in 18.2 overs (Usama Salim 54, Osama Hassan 22, Jonathan Figy 4-30, Sailles Jaishankar 2-28). Man of the match — Usama Salim NIMS-Al Ain.
Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Pakistan School bt Shining Star International by four wickets. Shining Star International 59 all out in 16.4 overs (Umar Khan 3-9, Rehan Azam 3-10). Man of the match — Umar Khan of Pakistan School. Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Pakistan School 63 for 6 in 10.1 overs (Khalid Mahmood 20 not out, Mohammad Rihan 3-13, Sindhunil Abdul 2-9). Man of the match — Umar Khan of Pakistan School.
Under 16: Emirates Future International bt The Cambridge High School by 29 runs. Emirates Future International 133 for 3 in 20 overs (Fazal Shahid 50, Ishit Patel 26, Sagar Binu 20 not out, Ahmad Raza 2-20) The Cambridge High School 104 for 9 in 20 overs (Salman Yousuf 29, Karthik Meiyappan 27, Mohammad Azzan 25 not out, Sagar Binu 2-16, Fazal Shahid 2-24, Ishit Patel 2-24). Man of the match — Fazal Shahid of Emirates Future.
Bright Riders bt Merryland International by 21 runs. Bright Riders 156 for 3 in 20 overs (Mohammad Anas 67 not out, Aditya Peri 20) Merryland International 135 all out in 17.4 overs (Ammad Zia 74, Abdullah Arif 20, Saharsh Patil 4-17, Krishna Pathak 4-18, Mohammad Anas 2-29). Man of the match — Mohammad Anas.
Bright Riders bt Sunrisers by 8 wkts. Sunrise 16 all out in 10 overs (Soorya Sathish 5-2, Utkarsh Srivastava 2-2, Krishna Pathak 2-5) Bright Riders 18 for 2 in 2 overs (George Thomas 2-8) Man of the match — Soorya Sathish of Bright Riders.
