A superb all-round performance from Biju Nair ensured DCC 40’s Club beat Dubai Mammoths by 29 runs in the Ramadan 25-over Forty’s cricket tournament at the Fairgrounds of the Dubai Men’s College on Sunday.
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This was DCC’s first win in three matches in the three-team tournament and was inspired by Nair’s 69 runs with the bat and two wickets with the ball.
Dubai Mammoths, who began with back-to-back victories, have now lost their last two matches.
DCC were in desperate need of a win to stay in the tournament and after captain Vijay Mehra won the toss and decided to bat, the early wickets of openers Abbas Khan and Mukund made their task even greater.
However, Nair and Mehra managed to drag their team out of a precarious position as the former blasted four towering sixes and as many fours, while Vijay chipped in with 22 from 30 balls.
Their partnership was worth 66 before Mehra’s dismissal.
Nair was short of support from his teammates but his explosive innings, coming off just 46 balls, put his team in contention.
Number nine CTK Usman finally offered some resistance, turning the match on its head with some power hitting en route to an unbeaten 29 from 16 balls as DCC closed on 172-8.
The Mammoths got off on the wrong foot with opener Ranjeet Chauhan run out early on and were left playing catch up from there on. Afraz Shaikh (35), Rajesh Thadani (24), Javed Siddiqui (16), Prajakat Chauhan (15) and Lucky Abbas (15) contributed but their side failed to threaten the DCC total.
Brief scores:
DCC 40’s Club beat Dubai Mammoths by 29 runs
DCC: 172 for 8 in 25 overs – (Biju Nair 69, CTK Usman 29 n.o., Vijay Mehra 22; Indika Batu 4/22, Rizwan Hashmi 2/37, Asad Badani 2/28)
Dubai Mammoths: 143 for 8 in 25 overs – (Afraz Shaikh 35, Rajesh Thadani 24 n.o.; Biju Nair 2/22)
Man of the match: Biju Nair