Zabeel end Banke's unbeaten run to win 16th edition of League of Mammoths

Dubai - Man of the match Vinan Nair and Prajakat Chouhan played key roles in Zabeel's emphatic win at the 7s ground

Zabeel Mammoths made the 16th edition of the League of Mammoths a sweet and memorable one for themselves after they ended Banke’s unbeaten 10-match winning run to clinch the final by four wickets.

Man of the match Vinan Nair and Prajakat Chouhan played key roles in Zabeel’s emphatic win at the 7s ground.

The double round-robin tournament, which started in 2015 under the aegis of the Dubai Cricket Council (DCC), is being organised by Dubai Mammoths CC.

Banke were favourites to lift the Cup after they had bulldozed their opponents en route to the final.

The toss too went in Banke’s favour but they didn’t get the start they were looking for from their top-order batsmen.

Only Harvinder Singh (51 from 47 balls, 8x4) and Naveen Kumar Gorthy (61 from 33 balls, 6x4, 2x6), who was adjudged best batsman of the tournament, put up a brave fight to give Banke a decent total of 177 from 25 overs.

In reply, Zabeel were off to a nightmarish start when both their openers Sangit Gopinath and Rohan Begeria returned to the pavilion without troubling the scorers.

Ranjeet Chavan came to the rescue and in Adnan Nalwala’s company constructed a decent partnership until Adnan (28) had to leave the field after retiring hurt.

Prajakat Chouhan gave Ranjeet good company. Together they took Zabeel closer to the target until the latter departed after scoring an invaluable 59.

Banke had a sniff of a comeback when Chouhan (33) too departed but Vinan Nair completed the formalities with a brilliant, unbeaten 33 from 17 balls to help Zabeel win the final in 23.2 overs.

The 17th edition of the League Of Mammoths will start in September with the traditional white clothing and red balls.

Brief scores (final):

Zabeel Mammoths beat Banke by four wickets

Banke 177 for 9 in 25 overs (Naveen Kumar Gorthy 61, Harvinder Singh 51; Vinan Nair 3-29, Prajakat Chouhan 2-53) Zabeel Mammoths 178 for 6 in 23.2 overs (Ranjeet Chavan 59, Prajakat Chouhan 33, Vinan Nair 33 n.o., Adnan Nalwala 28 retd out; Naveen Kumar Gorthy 2-36, Shoaib Mattathi 2-22). Man of the Match (final): Vinan Nair (Zabeel Mammoths).

Other winners:

Best batsman: Naveen Kumar Gorthy of Banke (8 matches, 359 runs).

Best bowler: Sharan Pinto of Jabal Ali Mammoths (10 matches, 21 wickets).

Player of Tournament: Mukund Srinivasan (10 matches, 256 runs & 17 wickets).