Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman win Emirates State tournament titles
The Emirates State tournament was a glorious success with age-group teams delivering some outstanding performances.
There were five teams in the tournament which was divided into three categories — Under 13, Under 16 and Under 19.
In the Under 13 final, Ajman beat Dubai in a Super Over thriller after the match ended in a tie.
Dubai took the top honours in the Under 16 category with an impressive six-wicket win over Sharjah in the final.
In the Under 19 final, Sharjah emerged champions after winning the final by 22 runs against Dubai.
These matches tested the skills and the temperament of the UAE youngsters who are hoping to break into the national team.
Dubai's teams, guided by mentor Amin Farooq, manager Salman Farooq and coach Gopal Jasapara, reached the finals in all three categories of the tournament.
Jasapara credited the Emirates Cricket Board's domestic cricket initiatives for the UAE's emphatic victory at the ACC Men's Under 16 West Zone Cup in Qatar recently.
"The Emirates Cricket Board is conducting many tournaments for budding cricketers and that is why we have seen outstanding performances from the UAE Under 16 team which won the tournament recently in Qatar where they beat Kuwait in the final," Jasapara said.
"This year's Emirates State tournament was very competitive where we saw some amazing performances from the five teams, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, ECB select XI and Abu Dhabi."
Brief scores:
Under 13 final
Dubai 166 all out
(Arush Kajaria 48, Eisa Shariq Divker 39, Prashasya Singh 21, Anay Wadekar 3 for 28, Saatvik Puranik 3 for 23)
Ajman 166/4 in 30 overs
(Advait Bhojnagarwala 58, Shreyansh Dutta 35, Yajat Kumar 48, Riyon Lobo 3 for 38)
Man of the Match: Advait Bhojnagarwala
Under 16 final
Ssharjah 204 all out in 49.5 overs
(Syed Rehan Thanveer 45, Sayed Ullah 39, Kyron Hubert 24, Anas Ahmed Sher 6 for 28, Nirmay Puthanveettil 2 for 35)
Dubai 205/4 in 35.4 overs
(Mohammed Shariq Lakdawala 76, Fazal Abubakr Farooq 51 not out)
Man of the Match: Anas Ahmed Sher of Dubai
Under 19 final
Sharjah 292 all out in 49.5 overs
(Noor Ullah Ayoubi 79, Ahmed Tariq 76, Rayan Khan 53, Anas Ahmed 4 for 59, Raheel Ali 2 for 32, Dhairya Desai 2 for 40)
Dubai 270 all out in 49 overs
(Akshat Rai 85, Liam D'Souza 54, Zainullah Rehmani 36, Raheel Ali 32, Punya Mehra 31, Noor Ullah Ayobi 4 for 52, Muhammed Ismail 3 for 39, Muhammad Umar Faisal 2 for 31)
Man of the Match: Noor Ullah Ayobi of Sharjah U19
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