Media Release
Qatar, May 13: Ambassador XII won the annual Indian Cricket Festival match 2015 by defeating Indian Community XII by 44 runs recently.
Last year, Indian Community XII had defeated Ambassador XII in the annual Indian Cricket Festival match.
Earlier, winning the toss and electing to bat Ambassador XII, ably lead by H E Sanjiv Arora, managed to score a total of 157 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Shinod was outstanding who scored 37 runs which included a boundary. He was brilliantly caught by Jassim with a juggling catch off Fuaad. Capt Ravi was unfortunately run out for 23 runs. Tariq Kureshi remained not out on 21 runs while Salim Kutty scored 17 runs. Habib Un Nabi of whom much was expected could manage only 11 runs but had the distinction of hitting the lone six of the match.
Fuaad bowled well to claim 3 wickets, while Sanjiv Jain, Ramesh Chandraekaran and Chidananda Nair took a wicket each.
In reply, Indian Community lost their opener Sanjiv Jain being run out in the 3rd over. Thereafter their batsmen could not get into their stride and could only manage 113 for the loss of 10 wickets, losing the match by 44 runs.
Farid remained not out on 22 runs while Chidananda was not out on 17 runs. Fuaad batted well to score 20 runs. Ramesh contributed 15 runs while Abdulla scored 14 runs. Wicketkeeper Capt Ravi was brilliant behind the stumps and had 3 stumpings and a catch to his credit. He also had the scalps of his colleagues, R P Singh and Dinesh Udenia.
Venkat Sriram bowled brilliantly, giving away only 3 runs and taking 4 wickets. Habib Un Nabi took 2 wickets while Aditya, Tariq Kureshi and Ashmat Ali took a wicket each.
Man of the Match was Capt Ravi Kumar. Venkat Sriram was the best bowler of the match. Shinod was the best batsman of the match.
The match was sponsored by Gulf INCON. The kits were sponsored by Sulaiman Jewelers while Mannai Air Travel- Fly Dubai gave away 2 tickets. The tickets were won by Sanjiv Jain and Surendra Merugu. Indian Cultural Centre had arranged refreshments for all attendees. Commentary was enthusiastically given by Kumar Naidu and Tufael.
DJ Anil Bolaar kept the audience enthralled with his peppy music. All in all, everyone enjoyed the entertaining cricket match in a scenic setting with loads of roars and cheers.