Officials present trophy to the champion team.

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

Desert Cubs DPS Centre was crowned champions after they defeated Desert Cubs Sharjah Centre by 64 runs in the finals of the Gulf Cup Under –11 tournament held on Tuesday at the MCC-1, Ajman Cricket Grounds.

In a thrilling encounter Desert Cubs DPS Centre elected to bat, after winning the toss, and posted a comfortable score of 221 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in the stipulated 25 overs. In reply Desert Cubs Sharjah Centre tried their best to reach the wining target, but could only get only 157 runs on the board for the loss of 9 wickets.

Noticeable performances of the finals included Man of the Match Aryan Thapar (98 runs), Ethan Jude Carneiro (79 runs) and Rishitraj Singh Rongkali clipped 2 wickets for 7 runs in 4 overs , all of Desert Cubs DPS centre while Rahman (50 runs) shone  of Desert Cubs Sharjah Centre.

Ahmed Khudadad of Metro Academy was adjudged the Player of the Tournament while Thapar of Desert Cubs DPS Centre also walked away with the Best Batsman award. The Best Bowler prize was awarded to Fathhur Rahman of Desert Cubs Sharjah Centre, Best Fielder was given to Aarav Vora of Desert Cubs JBS Centre and the Best Wicket Keeper award was snatched by Ethan Jude Carneiro of Desert Cubs DPS Centre.

The key highlights of the tournament was that Desert Cubs DPS Centre stood unbeaten in the entire tournament with 200 plus runs scored in almost all matches, while 331 for 3 wickets, was the highest tally in a single match.

The Gulf Cup Under -11 (2020-2021) which began on December 14, 2020 was organized by Young Talent Cricket Academy, UAE. The tournament had the participation of 12 teams and the 25-over matches were played in round robin league system wherein teams were divided into 4 pools. Based on maximum number of points and Net Run Rate four teams — Desert Cubs DPS Centre, Desert Cubs Sharjah Centre, Metro Cricket Academy and Springs Sports Academy — qualified for the semi-finals.

Shahzad Altaf, Head Coach of YTCA, said that such tournaments go a long way in promoting cricket in this region and providing a platform for young kids to showcase their talent.

The winning team was coached by Prosanta Chanda who is one of the most decorated Level 3 ICC coach in UAE. He is recipient of Best School Coach Award 2018 / 2019 in UAE. He has been in cricket arena in India and UAE for more than 30 years as a coach and has had a long association with Gulf Cup.