SHARJAH: Heriot Watt outclassed AUS by a seven-wicket margin to emerge worthy winners of the 14th edition of the Skyline Cup Inter-University cricket tournament held at the Skyline ground in Sharjah.

The chief guest for the finals was Waleed Bukhatir, Chairman of the Domestic Cricket Development Committee, Emirates Cricket Board and the guest of honor to motivate the cricketers was Aquib Javed, Head Coach of the UAE National Team.

Eariler in the semi-finals, Hheriot Watt defeated Skyline University by 38 runs while AUS got past Middlesex University .

Heriot Watt continued their fine form into the final as well as they first restricted AUS to 131 for 7 wickets in 20 overs and later chalked up 134 runs to seal the win in 17.4 overs and seven wickets to spare.

AUS, who were invited to bat first, found the going tough against some inspired bowling by the Heriot Watt attack. Only Umer who scored 31 off 41 balls showed some resistance. The other AUS batsmen to shine were openers Rehan (16), Haris (15) and later Musaab (17 not). For Heriot Watt, Shahrukh took two wickets for 19 runs.

In reply, Heriot Watt, openers Aqib and Adnan were in excellent form as they scored freely to keep their team well within the required run-rate. Adnan top-socred with 56 off 34 balls, including seven boundaries and 2 sixes while Aqib’s 39 came off 42 balls and included four boundaries and a six. Adnan was later declared the man of the match.

AWARDS:

Best Batsman: Rehan Ali (AUS)

Best Bowler: Nasir (AUS) and Mohsin (Heriot Watt)

Best All-rounder: Salman Babar ( Skyline University )

Player of Tournament: Adnan Khan (Heriot Watt)

SCORES (FINAL):

Heriot Watt bt AUS by 7 wkts

AUS 131 for 7 wkts in 20 overs (Umer 31, Rehan 16, Haris 15, Musaab 17*; Shahrukh 2-19). Heriot Watt 134 for 3 wkst in 17.4 overs (Aqib 39, Adnan 56, Rohit 13*, Shahrukh 10*). Man of the match: Adnan of Heriot Watt.