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| The victorious Qatari Diar team |
The event was conceptualised and organised by Purple Patch, an organisation affliliated to the ICC and Mumbai-based Quba Media Works which specialises in sports education and sports events.
Two Test players—Rana Naved Ul Hasan and Wasim Jaffer—drew a lot of attention among the vast expat population in the city. The two former Test stars added a lot of value to the tournament by playing some of the games themselves.
The unique concept of the event was that it was a E-8 tournament played with a hard tennis ball. There were four groups who played the round-robin league and qualified for the quarter-finals, the semis and the final.
It was a huge moment for all the players in the 10-team event which was played over two days on an artificial turf wicket. For the families and even the fans it was a god-sent opportunity to watch and learn from the stars.The two-day tournament saw in all around 15 games being played. The tournament had a tight finish with almost 12 of the 15 matches having last over finishes. Eventually, Qatari Diar won the tournament and also finished on top of the fair play rankings list.
Qatari Diar’s Noman Sarwar showed fair bit of flair as he was voted the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. He also won the Player of the Final award for his all-round performance.
Noman scored critical runs and struck early for Qatari Diar. His efforts played a huge part in his side’s win.
In the final, QPC batting first scored 29 in five runs. The chase was simple for Qatari Diar as they reached the total in just three overs with SM Raheel hitting two consecutive sixes, as his side won the inaugural edition of Qatar Cricket Mela. In all there were five half-centuries in the tournament with the 100-run mark being achieved thrice.
That was certainly money’s worth for all the fans who checked into the arena thanks to an unique Facebook integration. All players, visitors and administrators had to log into the fan page and check in.
It was also the first time ever that stump cams were used during a cricket event in Qatar. This certainly raised the excitement level for all the fans.
“As someone who’s grown up in Doha, I always felt the need for a cricket event that would provide wholesome entertainment for the entire family. Cricket Mela has filled that void” said Suheem Dalvi , founder Purple Patch.
“The response of the people of Qatar to the Cricket Mela has been exceptional and it has given us the confidence to make it an annual affair on a larger scale across the middle east.” Faisal Shariff, director Quba Media Works and former IPL Director.
Galaxy Sports were the main sponsors of Qatar Cricket Mela with Doha Bank and Air Arabia being the supporting sponsors. Al Muftah were the Official Car sponsors and Horizon Manor was the Official Hotel.
