Daijiworld Media Network - Doha
Doha, May 5: Karnataka Sangha Qatar’s 6th Invitational 'Karnataka Cup 2015' cricket tournament came to an end with a glittering closing ceremony held at old Ideal School Grounds recently.
Kiran More, former Indian vice-captain and wicket-keeper, who represented India in Tests and ODIs, was the guest of honour for this year's event, which was witnessed by a record crowd.
Kiran More was invited on to the dais in a grand procession consisting of camels and coloufully dressed children. While welcoming the guests, KSQ president Deepak Shetty thanked all those who supported in organizing the event. KSQ honoured Kiran More for his contribution to the game of cricket.
Acknowledging the honour, Kiran More congratulated KSQ for its efforts in keeping the game alive among expats living in Qatar. He also thanked KSQ for inviting and honouring him.
Karnataka Sangha Qatar's 6th "Karnataka Cup 2015" was won by popular team Hanan led by Khader, who defeated Century Cricket Club in the finals. The record crowd that came to witness the final was treated to a fine display of spirited cricket from both teams.
R K Singh, deputy chief of mission, Embassy of India was the chief guest. C K Krishnan, AGM, head of corporate and commercial banking, Doha Bank, Girish Kumar, president of ICC, and event sponsor Chidanand Naik, general manager, M Pallonji Qatar were also guests for the evening.
Chidanand Naik was honoured with Mysore Peta and shawl by Kiran More and KSQ president Deepak Shetty for his outstanding contribution to KSQ and society.
Event sponsors Ghazi of ALMA, main sponsor of the evening V S Mannangi, general manager of Almuftah, Satish of Qatar Design Consortium, Arvind Patil, ICBF president, Yasir Nainar, IBPN general secretary and heads of many Karnataka-based organisations were present.
The closing ceremony was compered by Tufail, while general secretary, Mahesh Gowda proposed the vote of thanks. Dr Sanjay Kudari, chief coordiantor, Nagesh Rao, vice-president and Mahesh Gowda, general secretary were on the dais.
More than 600 cricket lovers from around Qatar gathered to witness the finals. The exit of popular team Pallonji was a disappointment to those gathered, as the expectation was that Hannan would face Pallonji team in the finals.
The umpires of the tournament were Furkhan, Hameed, Hassan and Younus while the scorers were Amjad, Prakashand Anand Balu. The commentators were Habib Ul Nabhi, S K Naidu, Murthy, Imtiyaz, Surendra and DJ was Savious. Cheer girls Moksha, Aapti, Sameeha, and Diya kept the audience lively throughout the tournament under the leadership of choreographer Akshata Hegde.
The man of the match of every game was awarded with a trophy and a gift.
For the league matches awards were presented as follows:
Man of the Finals: Aswar of Hanan
Man of the Series: Niyamant of Hanan
Best Batsman: Rauf of Hanan
Best Allrounder: Sharif of Centurion
Best Bowler: Upul of Qatartech
Best Wicket-keeper: Pushpe of Serendeb