Mavericks claim cricket title

Mavericks player with the trophy.

It was a toss-up for the man-of-the-final in the third DCC Silver Challenge Cup. There were superb all-round performances from Syed Danish (25 runs and 3-29) and Asad Badami (24 runs and 3-14). And there was a power-packed 63 from Mohammad Junaid. All of them contributed in Mavericks' 48-run win over Roaring Lions.
In the end Danish walked away with the all-important prize in this six-team single round-robin cricket tournament which was played with the pink ball under lights at the Dubai Sports City. Winning the toss Mavericks took up the challenge of batting first but with just 19 runs on the board, two of their batsmen Shahzad Farooq and Rashid Azeem were sent back to the dugout for an early shower.
Mohammad Junaid and Asad Badami did the repairing job initially with singles and twos before cutting loose and taking the team past the 100-run mark. Badami departed soon after scoring a run-a-ball 24 which also featured a six and two fours. Junaid continued to play attacking shots and with Syed Danish giving him good company at the other end Mavericks were looking set for a big total.
But Danish too walked back to the pavilion after a quickfire 25 from 20 balls with one hit to the ropes and the other over it. Asif Malik joined Junaid and came up with a cameo 20 from 15 balls with two fours but it was Junaid's 63 from 53 balls (6x4) which helped Mavericks cross the 150-mark. Mavericks' total also received a boost when Roaring Lions conceded 21 runs by way of Extras.
Rajesh Naug impressed with the ball for the Lions with 3-29, while Bose Pratap (2-36) and Rakesh Kumar (2-27) backed him.
But all their hard work was undone by the Extras which proved costly for Lions when chasing as only Rajesh Naug, who was also declared the 'Player of the tournament' scored 32 (24 balls, 5x4) and Saurabh Kapoor top-scored with 33 (27b, 1x6, 2x4).
Syed Danish and Asad Badami were in the thick of action with the former grabbing 3-29 and the latter 3-14. Nasir Hussain chipped in with two wickets.
Brief scores:
Mavericks beat Roaring Lions by 48 runs
Mavericks 177 for 9 in 25 overs (Mohammad Junaid 63, Syed Danish 25, Asad Badami 24, Asif Malik 20; Rajesh Naug 3-29, Bose Pratap 2-36, Rakesh Kumar 2-27) Roaring Lions 129 all out in 21.5 overs (Saurabh Kapoor 33, Rajesh Naug 32; Asad Badami 3-14, Syed Danish 3-29, Nasir Hussain 2-26).
Player of the final: Syed Danish (Mavericks CC).
Other winners
Best batsman: Kunal Jain of Rowdy XI (5 matches, 241 runs).
Best bowler: Ali Anwar of Mideast Metals (5 matches, 10 wickets).
Player of the tournament: Rajeev Naug of Roaring Lions (5 matches, 161 runs & 8 wickets).