Indian team finishes runner-up in Red Bull Campus Cricket World tourney

Indian team Marathwada Mitra Mandal College of Commerce Saturday finished runner-up in the university level Red Bull Campus Cricket World Finals T20 tournament after losing to Sri Lanka's Business Management School in the summit clash here.

The MMMCC from Pune was the in-form team of the tournament having won all the five league matches, but in the final at the Sinhalese Sports Club, the Sri Lankan side emerged victorious by five wickets in a thrilling match which was decided in the last ball.

The Indian team had beaten the home side by seven wickets in the league stage.

The Indiam team had straightway qualified for the final after topping the league stage while the Sri Lankan side had defeated Pakistan's Karachi University in the play-off match on Friday.

Put into bat, MMMCC posted 211 for two with opener Murtaza Shabbir (76 not out from 48 balls) and one-down Yash Nahar (58) hitting half centuries, while Divyang Hingekar (46 not out) also made a substantial contribution.

The Indians scored 42 runs from the single 'Energiser Over' which they took in the 19th over. From 152 for two, they jumped to 194 and then added another 17 runs from the 'normal' final over.

The Energiser Over, one per side, is chosen by the batting team at any point after the Powerplay overs and each run scored is counted double. Any wicket taken during that over will see five penalty runs being deducted from the batting side.

Chasing 212 for a win, the Sri Lankan team remained in the hunt by reaching 141 for two with the 'Energiser Over' still to come. But a double dismissal in the 16th over brought two new batsmen on the crease. The home team also could accumulate only 26 runs from the 18th 'Energiser Over', leaving it to score 32 runs from the final two 'normal' overs.

The Sri Lankan team was five down at that stage but its lower-order batsmen played superbly to pull it off in the final delivery of the match, reaching to 212 for six from 20 overs.

Big-hitter Ranitha Liyanarachchi produced an electric finish, hitting a six over deep cover on his way to 26 not out off 14 balls, while MMMCC players allowed nerves to get the better of them as two catches were grassed and four byes conceded in the final overs.

Thanks to another big Liyanarachchi six, this one over long on, BMS scored the 15 runs required in the final over. The scores were tied in the penultimate delivery and then Devind Pathmanathan scored a single to trigger celebration at the Sri Lankan camp.

This was the second title for BMS, having won the tournament in 2016 while it had finished runner-up last year.

For MMMCC, this was the third time it was representing India in the tournament and the team was making its first appearance in the final.

D A V College, Chandigarh had won the expanded edition of the tournament in 2013 while Rizvi College from Mumbai won the inaugural event in 2012 when it was competed among Asian countries only.

Red Bull Campus Cricket is a global T20 cricket tournament for university teams, serving as an international platform for young and budding cricketers to showcase their talent and hone their skills.

The tournament is now in its seventh year. Six teams took part in the World Finals this year. Teams from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and United Arab Emirates took part in this edition.