Inaugural edition of Women’s Indoor Bash cricket held at Oman Cricket Academy

Muscat: It was a day of cricket where camaraderie and competitive spirit was in full display at the Oman Cricket Academy indoor arena as the inaugural edition of the TMDone Women’s Indoor Bash came to successful conclusion.

Organised by Oman Cricket (OC), the nine-a-side T10 tournament attracted a total of seven teams with Pitch Smashers cornering the title glory in style.

In the final, Pitch Smashers defeated Phoenix by six wickets with Smashers’ Nayan Anil picking the player of the final trophy.

Besides the finalists, the other teams that battled out at the indoor arena of the Oman Cricket Academy were Pakistan School Muscat (PSM) Women, Globetrotters, Indian School Wadi Kabir (ISWK) Women, Bangaldesh Cricket Club Women and The DrOmans.

OC’s endeavour to make the game popular and reach a larger section of women met with encouraging response as the seven teams were allowed to name 11 players each.

A round-robin format ensured that each team played two matches each in the league stage and the best four – Pitch Smashers, Phoenix, PSM Women and Globetrotters - advanced to the playoff stage.

The playoff stage had a Qualifier 1 for the top two teams in the league stage and Pitch Smashers defeated Phoenix to qualify directly to the final. Phoenix got another chance in Qualifier 2 as it met PSM Women, who had defeated Globetrotters in Eliminator.

Phoenix got the better of PSM Women to set up a repeat match against Pitch Smashers. However, Pitch Smashers stamped their authority to claim the title.

Phoenix’s Amanda D’Costa was declared the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament. Delighted after the success of the inaugural edition, Vaishali Jesrani, OC’s women coordinator and advisor to the OC board, said, “This was a new concept launched by us. We are very happy to have received such an encouraging response. The players, be it working women, schoolchildren and homemakers, were all part of the event and it was played in good spirit. It was heartening to see families turn up to cheer the women teams.”

Vaishali, who has been spearheading women’s cricket in Oman for more than a decade, said, “Oman Cricket is committed to promote women’s cricket and the new format was introduced to attract more players and showcase our world-class indoor facilities at the Oman Cricket Academy. We are thankful to all the participants, and we hope to bring more such events in the country.”

Saada al Ismaili, former Oman Olympic Committee (OOC) board member, and Kiran Asher, OC board member, were the guests of honour, and presented the trophies, cash awards and individual prizes. Also present on the occasion were Maryam al Hosni, representative from the Ministry of Education and member of Oman School Sports Association, and Duleep Mendis, OC’s chief development officer.

Brief scores: Qualifier 1: Pitch Smashers: 69/1 in 10 overs (Nitya 31 n.o.; Geetha Jagdish 1-7) beat Phoenix:  30/5 in 10 overs (Afida 1-0, Meera 2-2)

Qualifier 2: Phoenix: 79/0 in 10 overs (Geetha J 31 n.o.); beat PSM Women: 34/4 in 10 overs (Fiza 19; Nikithaa 1-10)

Final: Phoenix: 49/3 in 10 overs (Geetha J 18; Meera 1-6) lost to Pitch Smashers: 50/2 in 8.1 overs (Nayan 19 n.o.; Amanda D’Costa 1-5)