Semi-final line-up takes shape

In what was almost a dress rehearsal for the semi-finals, Delhi-based Shraddhanand College beat Loughborough Marylebone Cricket Club University England, by six wickets, in a thrilling chase in their final group-stage encounter at the Abhimanyu Cricket Academy on Thursday.

The hosts finished top of Group A after winning three-straight matches. They will take on defending champions Assupol TUKS for a place in Saturday's final.

Loughborough MCC will take on Group B leaders, Sri Lanka-based International College of Business and Technology, in the semi-final.

England won the toss, in Thursday's clash, and elected to bat first, with a view to giving practice to their batsmen. But Shraddhanand College's fast bowler, Abhishek Vats - who has troubled every team during the tournament so far - maintained his match-winning display.

Vats struck in the third over of the match and dismissed opener Anish Parel. He then added to his tally by breaching the defence of Irfan Karim in the ninth over.

LMCC's Nitesh Kumar dropped anchor and smashed seven fours and six sixes in his 51-ball 97, which helped his team gain a strong hold in the match. His innings helped LMCC score 179 in his innings.

Shraddhanand College set about the chase confidently and their top-four batsmen found runs. Deepak Khatri's 46-ball 73 and opener Jitesh Saroha's 40 helped SC win by six wicket, with seven balls to spare.

An impressive bowling-display helped University of Technology Sydney register their first win of the tournament; after they narrowly beat European University of Bangladesh by 22 runs.

UTS's batsmen faltered, batting first, and managed just 118 in their innings. However, their bowler's helped restore some pride.

Harry Dalton and Benjamin Wallis picked up two-wickets each, while James Campbell, Daniel Donaldson and William Dempsey picked up one-wicket each to complete the win.

Heriot-Watt University Dubai registered their first win of the tournament after they beat Jinnah Degree College Karachi by 19 runs.

Both teams had already failed to make the semi-finals, after repeated failures in the Group stages. Jinnah Degree College didn't register a win in the tournament.