A domestic cricket tournament final in Dubai witnesses a team snap their opponent's 10-match winning spree for a title triumph

By K.R. Nayar

Zabeel Mammoths stopped Banke’s unbeaten 10-match winning streak to win the 16^th edition of the Mammoth league tournament held under the auspices of the Dubai Cricket Council at the 7’s cricket ground. This tournament is being held regularly since 2015 and is organised by Dubai Mammoths Cricket Club.

Zabeel Mammoths celebrate their stunning win 

Snapping a team’s winning streak had always excited cricket fans. The history of Test cricket has many such instances that are considered special. During the period 1982-84, West Indies won 27 Test consecutive matches till Australia ended it in Sydney winning by an innings and 55 runs. Between 1968 and 1971, England won 26 matches before being stopped by the Indian team led by Ajit Wadekar at Oval through a four-wicket win. Australia had won 25 matches between 1946 and 51, and 22 matches between 2005 and 2008. England ended the 25 matches unbeaten streak at Melbourne and India ended their 22-match victory run at Perth.

So Zabeel Mammoths’ four-wicket win over Banke, who had an unbeaten 10-match winning run till the final, is being talked about as an amazing show. Banke was considered the favourites but Zabeel, by giving their best, pulled off a spectacular win. It was Zabeel’s belief in their abilities despite the odds against them that helped them achieve the victory. The architects of Zabeel’s stunning win were Man of the match Vinan Nair and Prajakat Chouhan.

Zabeel Mammoths players flash the victory symbol after their special win

At the start, everything seemed to be in favour of Banke. They not only carried the confidence of their winning streak into the final but also won the toss. Zabeel went for the kill right away by removing Banke’s top order batsmen quickly. Banke’s Harvinder Singh (51 from 47 balls, 8x4) along with Naveen Kumar Gorthy (61 from 33 balls, 6x4, 2x6) took up the mantle of lifting Banke out of trouble. Naveen Kumar Gorthy, who bagged the best batsman of the tournament award, emerged the top scorer and ensured his team a fighting total of 177 from 25 overs.

Zabeel found the chase towards the target very tough but they did not give up. They lost both their openers Sangit Gopinath and Rohan Begera quickly. In walked Ranjeet Chavan, a veteran of many battles, and together with Adnan Nalwala (28), began the damage control. After Adnan retired hurt, Ranjeet and Prajakat Chouhan carried forward the momentum and steered Zabeel close to the target. After Ranjeet fell for an invaluable 59, Banke made a valiant effort to get back into the game removing a well-set Chouhan for 33. But then Vinan Nair rose to the challenge and cracked an unbeaten 33 from 17 balls to ensure Zabeel’s win in 23.2 overs. Earlier, Vinan had also sparkled with the ball to bag three wickets for 29 runs, well backed by Chouhan with two wickets.

This double round-robin tournament that is played in traditional white clothing and red balls is being held since 2015. The 17^th edition of this tournament will start in September.

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).
Special awards:
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).