NAS down Zabeel, claim LOM crown
dubai — Nad Al Sheba (NAS) Mammoths became champions of the fifth edition of the League of Mammoths (LOM) after comprehensively beating Zabeel Mammoths in a high scoring final on Tuesday.
Although there were lot of top performers on the day, Adnan Khan’s 78 stood out which earned him the Man of the Match award. The opener lost his partner Anil Adnani early but in the company of Lucky Abbas and Ibthisam Sait they hit the Zabeel bowlers to all corners of the ICCA ground in Dubai.
Adnan and Abbas raised 107 runs for the second wicket to lay the foundation for a big total.
Abbas played second fiddle to Adnan but his runs came at a brisk pace. By the time he departed he had scored 48 from 39 balls which had a six and four fours.
There was no respite for the Zabeel bowlers as next-in batsman Ibthisam Sait also put their attack to the sword while Adnan continued to get his runs at will from the other end.
Another 78 runs partnership by these two in quick time enabled NAS inch closer to the 200-run mark.
Sait too missed his half century by two runs but had done enough damage after striking a six and six fours during his 24-ball stay at the wicket.
Adnan’s 78 came from 57 balls with a six and six fours, while Santosh Kotian (13 from 4, 1x6, 1x4) and Biju Thomas (12 from 8, 2x4) played cameos at the end to take NAS to a fighting 237 for 8.
Zabeel kept faltering in their chase. Javed Siddiqui (24), Fardan Khalid (29) and Sheridan Hadfield (21) made contributions but the team was way behind the required run rate.
Then a 57-run partnership between Sheldon D’Cruz and Shajil Balan suddenly gave Zabeel hope but as they were inching closer to their target Sheldon departed after a quick-fire 23 from 11 balls (1 six and 3 fours).
Another 48 runs were required and as long as Balan was at the crease Zabeel had hopes of winning. But his hurricane innings of 57 from 25 balls (10x4) came to an end and with that ended Zabeel’s title hopes.
The tournament which comprised four teams Jumeirah, NAS, Zabeel Mammoths and NCC and played on a double round robin league basis was organized by Dubai Mammoths under the auspices of the Dubai Cricket Council. All the round robin matches were played with Red balls on Fridays at the Sevens.
Defending champions Jumeirah made an exit in their last league match.
With the tournament generating huge interest among amateur level players during the weekends, Dubai Mammoths plan to have the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th editions of the league from September onwards.