Aziz Damani defeated Avengers by 25 runs in a thrilling T20 Men’s Cup final on Sunday at the Lugogo Cricket Oval.
Avengers had convincingly beaten Damani sister club, Aziz Damani Development in the semifinals, but they went into the final as the underdogs.
However, they didn’t let that tag derail them as they produced a display worthy of a final.
Their bowling attack cleared Damani’s top order inside powerplay, but they were unable to find an antidote for Riazat Ali Shah who eventually won his team the game.
Shah hit 74 not out off 52 balls, including 5 fours and 3 sixes, to help Damani set a challenging target of 178.
The all-rounder joined the crease at number four in the fourth over, and he was all the boys in yellow and green needed to secure their sixth consecutive title.
Shah also picked up two wickets, including Avenger’s captain Yashashvi Joshi (16) and Panchal Harsh (28) who had steadied Avenger’s innings.
Opener Abhishek Mashru scored 35 runs for Avengers, but his wicket fell too early- in the 9th Over- and it proved an expensive one.
In the end, Damani were able to defend their score as they maintained their status quo.
Shah was named the MVP of the match. He ended the campaign as the player with most runs (240) and wickets (6) in the tournament.
Damani and the rest of the clubs will now switch attention to the 50 Over format, that starts on 23rd July.
