Consistent show from Hrithik Haridas Hareesh, Ahmed Khudadad, and match winning performances by Hrishnan Majumdar and Lokesh Reddy Kasireddy in Sharjah CBFS juniors 2022 tournament quarterfinals

By K.R. Nayar

Hrithik Haridas Hareesh of Tellicherry Cricket Academy and Ahmed Khudadad of Victoria Cricket Academy carried their brilliant form into the quarterfinals of the Sharjah CBFS juniors 2022 tournament at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Hrithik, who had recently hit 74 against MS Cricket Academy and 59 against Sharjah Cricket Academy, cracked a brilliant unbeaten 60 against Hidayat Cricket Academy to carry Tellicherry Cricket Academy into the semi-final of the Under-12 event.

Ahmed Khudadad of Victoria Cricket Academy, who had hit an unbeaten 101 against Tellicherry Cricket Academy and scored 44 against MS Cricket Academy in recent matches, hit an invaluable 27 runs in his academy’s exciting 15-runs win over MS Cricket Academy in the Under-14 quarterfinals.

Maxtalent’s Hrishnan Majumdar’s fine spell of 3 for 16 against Tellicherry Cricket Academy ensured his team a slot in the Under-14 semi-final.  Desert Cubs’ Lokesh Reddy Kasireddy scored a valuable 20 runs in his academy’s closely fought two-wicket win over Spring Sports Academy in another Under-12 quarterfinal match.

Tellicherry Cricket Academy’s 29-runs win over Hidayat Cricket Academy was mainly due to the huge score of 159 for 3 they had piled up in their 20 overs. Hidayat Cricket Academy had opted to field but could not stop Tellicherry Cricket Academy’s run flow especially opener Hayyan Palekar, who hit 28, and Hrithik Haridas Hareesh’s unbeaten 60. Hrithik’s knock came off just 37 balls with seven boundaries.

It was a tough task for Hidayat Cricket Academy to reach that score although Neil Siddharth (20) and SK (22) tried hard.  Tellicherry Cricket Academy bowled tightly led by Brandan Kevin Miranda for a spell of 2 for 12.

Desert Cubs' two wicket win over Spring Sports Academy was an exciting encounter. Spring Sports Academy, opting to bat, posted an impressive 121 for 2 with fine knocks from Neev Jethwani (35) and Harshad Singh (30n.o).

Chasing the score, Desert Cubs lost wickets but maintained the run flow.   Navnit Gurnani top scored with 22 runs and Lokesh Reddy Kasireddy hit a timely 20 runs to ensure them victory off the last ball. Mayur Gurnani hit the last two balls of the match for two runs each to remain unbeaten on 5.  

In the Under-14 quarterfinal match, Victoria Cricket Academy pulled off a 15-runs victory over MS Cricket Academy. Victoria Cricket Academy batted first and posted 101 for 8 mainly due to Yadhukrishna Pillai’s 20 and their dependable batsman Ahmed Khudadad scoring 27 runs despite a fine spell from Khush Ranka (3 for 18).

However, MS Cricket Academy could muster only 86 runs mainly due to Varun who led the attack with two wickets. Varun has been consistent in this tournament with numerous match winnings spells to his credit.

In another quarterfinal match, Maxtalent defeated Tellicherry Cricket Academy by eight wickets.  Tellicherry Cricket Academy, opting to bat first, got bowled out for 84 in 18.2 overs. The chief destroyer was Hrishnan Majumdar with a fine spell of 3 for 16 backed by Abhimaan Sharma with (2 for 15).

Chasing the easy target, Maxtalent won in 12 overs. Sourish Singla hit an unbeaten 39 off 28 balls with four boundaries with skipper Sachin Prakash chipping in with an unbeaten 15.

 Brief scores: (All quarterfinals)

Under-12:

Tellicherry Cricket Academy bt Hidayat Cricket Academy by 29 runs. Tellicherry Cricket Academy 159 for 3 in 20 overs (Hayyan Palekar 28, Hrithik Haridas Hareesh 60n.o, Nakul Rejoy 26n.o) Hidayat Cricket Academy 130 for 5 in 20 overs (Neil Siddharth 20, SK 22, Brandan Kevin Miranda 2 for 12)
Player of the Match: Hrithik Haridas Hareesh

 Desert Cubs bt Spring Sports Academy by 2 wkts. Spring Sports Academy 121 for 2 in 20 overs (Neev Jethwani 35, Harshad Singh 30n.o) Desert Cubs 122 for 8 in 20 overs (Navnit Gurnani 22, Lokesh Reddy Kasireddy 20, Shelina Laxmidas 2 for 25).
Player of the Match: Lokesh Reddy Kasireddy

 Under 14:

Victoria Cricket Academy bt MS Cricket Academy by 15 runs. Victoria Cricket Academy 101 for 8 in 20 overs (Yadhukrishna Pillai 20, Ahmed Khudadad 27, Khush Ranka 3 for 18, Athul Anoop 2 for 11) MS Cricket Academy 86 in 20 overs (Varun 2 for 11)
Player of the Match: Ahmed Khudadad

 Maxtalent bt Tellicherry Cricket Academy by 8 wkts.  Tellicherry Cricket Academy 84 in 18.2 overs (Rayyan Azeem 21, Hrishnan Majumdar 3 for 16, Abhimaan Sharma 2 for 15) Maxtalent 85 for 2 in 12 overs (Sourish Singla 39n.o).

Player of the Match: Hrishnan Majumdar