Defending champions TUKS to meet LMCC in final

Assupol TUKS, will defend their campus-cricket crown, on Saturday, when the meet Loughborough Marylebone Cricket Club University in the Final of the Red Bull Campus Cricket tournament at the Abhimanyu Cricket Academy, Dehradun.

TUKS and LMCC came through a turbulent group stage, to win their Semi-final against Shraddhanand College and International College of Business and Technology respectively on Friday.

Murray Coetzee, Assupol TUKS', captain led from the front with a quick fire 54-ball 83 in the semis to beat the team from the host-nation by 39 runs.

Abhishek Vats, SC's in-form fast bowler, failed to fire against TUKS and went wicket less. Coetzee led the charge and combined with Aiden Markram for a 119-run opening stand.

Coetzee smashed five fours and five sixes in his match-winning knock. Ruben Claassen then starred with the ball for TUKS and claimed four wickets to ensure SC fell 39 runs short of making the final.

LMCC outclassed an in-form ICBT side in the second semifinal of the day. ICBT won all their matches in the group-stages convincingly.

But their batsmen faltered in the semis, as LMCC fast bowler Toby Lester picked up four wickets in his spell.

Sadeera Samarawickrama top-scored with 52 from 46 balls but other batsmen failed to find runs. The Sri Lanka-based team managed just 129 in their innings.

Irfan Karim, the Kenya international, guided LMCC to the final with a resolute 82 that came from just 58 balls. It took a 92-run stand between Karim and Nitesh Kumar to help LMCC through to the Final to be played on October 24.