SFS down Radio 4 to storm into semi-finals

SFS are all set for the semi-final action. — Supplied photo

SFS secured a semi-final place and Danube Lions retained their 100 per cent record in the last round of Super Six matches in the Ramadan Indoor Cricket Tournament at the ICC Academy at Dubai Sports City.

SFS beat Radio 4 by 23 runs to seal third spot in the Super Six table and Danube finished the second stage at the head of affairs after a comfortable 75-run win over HSBC. The matches also confirmed the line-up for the semi-finals with Danube facing Oxford Marine, who sealed fourth spot thanks both to their late rally — winning their final two matches in the Super Six stage — and also Radio 4’s loss to SFS.

The other semi-final sees DBMSC Steel, which finished second in the Super Six stage with four wins and a one-run loss to Danube, up against SFS, a side that secured three wins in that second phase of the tournament, including the success against Radio 4.

Radio 4 (one win from five matches) and HSBC (without a Super six win) are the ones to miss out on semi-final places.

For Radio 4 it means heartache for a second successive year as it was eliminated at the Super Six stage last year too while, for HSBC, it is a case of taking the positives and the experience away from a first time at this stage of the tournament.

SFS’s latest win was founded on a stunning display with the ball and in the field after it appeared to have made a slightly under-par total batting first.

SFS scored 50, with just four runs coming from the final three overs of its innings. Each match is 12 overs per side and sees eight players batting in pairs for three overs each, with five runs deducted every time a wicket falls. But having under-achieved with the bat, it was a different story for SFS when it came to defending the total as its players tore into action against a Radio 4 side lacking in confidence after three successive losses.