ADAMSTOWN SNATCH WHELAN CUP IN DRAMATIC RUN CHASE!

The second final of the day in Park Avenue proved to be every bit as dramatic as the first, as yet again a run chase went right to the final over, however on this occasion it was the chasing side that came out on top, as Adamstown held their nerve to win with one ball and two wickets to spare!

Having won the toss, Malahide elected to bat first, however a good opening spell for Adamstown saw Amandeep Matharoo claiming two wickets, and in fact, the eventual winners were well on top for the majority of the innings. Only Malahide's skipper Mohsin Shaikh managing to offer any significant resistance, as he ended the day with what was comfortably the highest score in the game having made 48 from just 43 balls.

That, combined with no less than 26 extras formed well over half of Malahide's final total of 119/8 in 20 overs, with their efforts hampered by the loss of Richard Brown to a hamstring injury before he had gotten off the mark. For Adamstown, Matharoo was the pick of the bowlers claiming 3/18, whilst Abdul Ahmadzai also claimed identical figures.

The chase got off to an excellent start, as Lucky Sharma dominated an opening stand worth 42 with skipper Sunil Parashar before eventually falling for 27. When three wickets fell for just four runs around the halfway stage, Adamstown's progress was halted, however another strong stand between Maneesh Mediboyina and Umar Bashir brought the score to near 100.

Another spurt saw three more wickets falling for just 12 runs, however it was down to Adhiyan Chattopadhyay and Sharaj Jagadeesan who held their nerve, adding the final 14 runs, with Jagadeesan smearing a cut shot to the boundary to seal the victory with a ball to spare!

Congratulations to Adamstown on winning the ED Sports Whelan Cup for 2026, a brilliant achievement for all players, coaches, officials and supporters associated with the team!