Mangalore, Febryary 25: Dix Group DKCA Mangalore Warriors thrashed Coastaldigest Chris Cairns XI by 83 runs in a charity T20 match at the NMPT Cricket Stadium here on Friday, February 25.
Powered with Ashreen's scintillating 96, Dix Group DKCA Mangalore Warriors posted a massive total of 262 runs on the board, losing only three wickets in the process. On a mat wicket with the ball hardly doing anything both in terms of spin and swing, the clueless bowlers of Coastaldigest Chris Cairns XI were smashed to all sides of the park in the allotted 20 overs. Nihal (79), Nithish Raj (29), and skipper Daniel Sequiera (31) too joined the party, making sure that they keep Coastaldigest Chris Cairns XI fielders chasing leather all the time. Nihal in particular took the attack to the men in red and smashed four consecutive sixes in one particular over towards the end of the innings.
In reply, Coastaldigest Chris Cairns XI set off to a defensive start, going at a relatively low pace considering the total they had to chase. The batsmen failed to come to terms with the conditions and Dix Group DKCA Mangalore Warriors' bowling attack, and lost wickets at the top. The star of the event, Chris Cairns, then came out to bat and gave the crowd a lot to cheer about with some lusty hits either side of the wicket. After scoring a well made 69, Cairns got out, eliminating any hopes of Coastaldigest Chris Cairns XI winning the game. In all, Coastaldigest Chris Cairns XI could only manage 179 in their allotted 20 overs for the loss of 6 wickets with contributions from Nathan Ashley (51) and Marc Archer (44), besides Cairns.
Ashreen was adjudged Man of the Match for his match winning knock of 96.
Sanjay Rao, Managing Director, Maruti Suzuki Mandovi, Mangalore, Dr Shrikanth Rai, President, Dakshina Kannada Cricket Association, Dr M R Shetty, Secretary and Executive Officer of Dr M V Shetty Memorial Trust, Arjun Pinto, President of Round Table, Muhammad Sharief, Administrative Manager of Coastaldigest.com and Joseph Rego, Head of the Chris Cairns Foundation, were present at the presentation ceremony.
Speaking after losing the match, Chris Cairns said that the Mangalore team played better than what they had expected. “Their standard of play was a lot better. We gave away too many runs. They were the better team”, Cairns said, congratulating the local team for the victory.
Winning captain Daniel Sequiera said that the event was a good opportunity to showcase their abilities and that they look to make the most of such opportunities whenever they get them. He also said that his team had not quite expected that they will win in such a fashion especially with a player of Cairns' caliber in the opposition camp. “Until he (Cairns) was there at the crease, I was not quite sure. When he got out, I was content”, Sequeira said.
Man of the match Ashreen said that playing against cricketers of international stature, was a good experience for the local team.
Muhammad Sharief presented Marc Archer of Coastaldigest Chris Cairns XI with the Best Batsman award while Dr Shrikanth Rai and Arjun Pinto jointly presented the Best Bowler award to Daniel Sequiera of Dix Group DKCA Mangalore Warriors. Sanjay Rao gave away the Maruti Suzuki Chris Cairns T20 Cricket Trophy to the winning team.
The ball used in the game as well as the cricket kits used by Chris Cairns' team were presented to DKCA on the occasion.
Prior to the match Chris Cairns gave some useful cricket tips to children at a short coaching session.
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