Vriitya Aravind was hoisted aloft by his jubilant teammates after guiding Sharjah to the Emirates D10 title with victory over Fujairah at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Monday night.
The UAE wicketkeeper hit a sparkling 66 not out off 27 balls as the home side added the 10-over title to the one they won in the T20 version of the new national competition at the end of last year.
The final had been delayed because the curtain-raiser fixture between the country’s leading women’s players had gone to a super over.
It meant a late-night finish. Aravind eventually hit the winning runs off his national team captain Ahmed Raza shortly before midnight.
The final was a repeat of the D20 final in December, in which Sharjah snatched the title from Fujairah despite the latter having made all the running earlier in the competition.
Similar happened in the 10-over tournament, with Mohammed Wasim, Usman Khan and Chirag Suri powering Fujairah to the top of the standings with their bats.
Wasim again finished top of the tournament's batting charts, including a 23-ball 60 that saw Fujairah past Ajman in their Monday afternoon semi-final.
The wait between that fixture and the final was long enough for Wasim’s form to cool. He and Usman fell in quick succession against Junaid Siddique’s fast bowling, and Fujairah were struggling when Yasir Kaleem followed them soon after.
The fact Fujairah were able to post a competitive tally from there on said much about the excellence of their national team duo Suri and Alishan Sharafu.
The pair put on an unbroken 98 to lift the side in green to 123-3 from their 10 overs.
Suri’s knock was stunning, mixing deft flicks behind the wicket with raw power. He finished unbeaten on 71 from just 25 deliveries.
He was upstaged by Aravind, though, as the young wicketkeeper batsman made short work of the run chase, with Sharjah winning with eight wickets and 11 balls to spare.
