Sharjah: The GM Cricket Academy’s (GMCA) initiative to give exposure for cricketers below the age of 10 was well received with five teams competing in the tournament.
GM Cricket Academy team won the GMCA junior cup tournament, which was competed by five teams. In the final GMCA defeated GEMS-Kinder Garden School (KGS), Dubai at the Skyline University College cricket ground. It was a special experience for the kids as they gained match experience playing on a turf wicket at such a young age.
Speaking to Gulf News, Abdul Rahman, the Chief Executive Officer of the GM Academy, said: “It was great to garner so many young kids and it was a delight to watch them learn new skills from the matches. We introduced this tournament mainly to unearth young talent for the UAE team.”
The final was keenly fought with GMCA Under-10 team led by Moosa Qasim winning the toss and electing to bat. Qasim led from the front by partnering Mohammad Ali and giving a good start. Moosa scored 16 runs while Ali chipped in with 66 runs. Their middle order batsmen too chipped in with some useful scored and helped GMCA posted 131 for 6.
Kinder Garden School chased the total with determination. M. Harshad and S. Kushal hit scored 27 runs and 23 runs respectively. However, in the last five overs, KGS needed 28 runs but fell short by 12 runs.
Mohammad Ali, who sparkled in the final with a knock off 66 was adjudged man of the final. GMCA skipper Moosa Qasim won the best batsman award while M. Shashank was adjudged the best bowler. Qasim also bagged the most valuable player award.
In the ongoing 29th Ramadan Rathath MF Cup organised Sharjah Cricket Club, Saheb Malhotra of Metal Plast cracked a 12-ball half century to down Allied Shipping Brief scores:
GMCA Junior Cup final: GM Cricket Academy bt GEMS-Kinder Garden School (KGS), Dubai by 12 runs. GMCA 131 for 6 in 20 overs (Mohammad Ali 66) KGS 120 for 5 in 20 overs (M. Harshad 27, S. Kushal 27).
Sharjah Ramadan Cup: Metal Plast bt Allied Shipping by 84 runs. Metal Plast: 176 for 8 in 20 overs (Sameen Kandanarachi 36, Dilhara Lokuheltige 40, Saheb Malhotra 50; Yousuf Hamidi 2 for 40, Hozefa Patel 2 for 25, Murtaza Mogal 2 for 47) Allied Shipping: 92 in 17.2 overs (Murtaza Mogal 23, Hozefa Vakhariya 34; Ghulam Rabani 3 for 11, Mlinda Pushpakumara 2 for 21, Adnan-ul-Mulk 2 for 3). Man of the match: Saheb Malhotra.
