ROBIN SINGH LEADS INDIA TO MAIDEN TITLE AT CATHAY PACIFIC/STANDARD CHARTERED HONG KONG CRICKET SIXES

The India team savours the spoils of victory at the 2005 Cathay Pacific / Standard Chartered Hong Kong International Cricket Sixes © CCIL

October 23, Hong Kong: India cruised past West Indies by four wickets to win their first Cup title at the US$280,000 Cathay Pacific/Standard Chartered Hong Kong Cricket Sixes at the Kowloon Cricket Club.

Veteran campaigner and skipper Robin Singh turned in a Player of the Final performance with 34 runs as India avenged their 1996 final defeat to the West Indies as well as their three-wicket loss in Saturday’s Pool 2 preliminary match.

It was a clean sweep of major awards for India with exciting all-rounder Reetinder Sodhi taking both the MVP prize and Player of the Tournament title – as much for his animated celebrations as for his talent with both bat and ball.

Singh, the 42-year-old Trinidad-born all-rounder who coaches the Hong Kong national side, is the only survivor from the 1996 Indian squad.

“We came here with the intention of winning the tournament and I’m delighted that we were able to make it a reality,” said Singh. “The 1996 event was a long time ago and I didn’t think about it at all. If anything, we should have won that tournament as well.”

In what proved to be a one-sided final, the Indian bowlers stifled the West Indian batsmen, who racked up 72 for one from their five eight-ball overs, which applied to the finals and third-fourth play-offs only.

It never looked likely to be enough against India’s hard-hitting batsmen who had 40 deliveries at their disposal. The Indians paced their chased perfectly, reaching 76 for two with five balls left.

Hrishikesh Kanitkar had the distinction of striking the winning boundary, sparking wild celebrations among the large Indian contingent within the capacity crowd of more than 4,000.

“We really wanted to restrict them (West Indies) and give ourselves a good total to chase. The bowlers did a magnificent job in helping us achieve that,” added Singh.

West Indies, despite falling short, performed beyond expectations in reaching the final.

Skipper Sylvester Joseph, whose squad travelled farthest of the seven visiting teams, paid tribute to his players.

“It was disappointing to lose but, you know, we came here to play some good cricket, we fought really well and had some good wins,” said Joseph.

“Unfortunately, in the end, we didn’t manage to pull it off. But we can hold our heads up high. We understand that this is a game that we are still working out.

“You really need about 80 or 90 runs to set a tough target, but the Indians bowled really well and they deserved it.”

Two-time defending champions England failed to make it a hat-trick of consecutive titles after losing to West Indies by six runs in their semi-final.

And in an ironic twist, their opponents in the third-fourth play-off were Sri Lanka, who England defeated in last year’s final.

Like last year, it was England who triumphed, with Robert Croft’s men securing a five-wicket win to avenge Saturday’s 15-run Pool 1 defeat to the Lankans.

Sri Lanka’s hopes of a maiden title ended in the semi-finals when they lost to India by four wickets.

Pakistan rescued an overall disappointing tournament by winning the Plate competition with a comprehensive 41-run victory over South Africa in the final.

It was an emotional event for skipper Moin Khan and his teammates, who on Saturday made a special appeal for Hong Kong fans to donate generously to victims of the earthquake that recently ravaged parts of Pakistan.

“At least we won something in this tournament,” said Moin, the former Pakistan Test captain. “We definitely should have won the whole tournament, that’s what we came here for. It’s disappointing that we didn’t get to the Cup but at the same time it was a great boost for our youngsters to be able to play here.”

Sodhi, 25, who has played 18 one-day internationals for India, had an outstanding two days and fully deserved his two accolades. He scored a total of 128 runs over five matches and also took three wickets. “It was great to be part of the winning team and winning these two awards as well,” said Sodhi.

Hosts Hong Kong were unable to win any matches against tough competition, losing in the Plate third-fourth play-off to Australia by one wicket. “I’m disappointed that we lost all our matches,” said Hong Kong captain Afzaal Haider. “We tried our best but we were up against really strong teams.”

The Indian team earned US$100,000 for their victory while the West Indies won US$50,000. Third-placed England took home US$35,000 and Sri Lanka won US$30,000.

Provided by the Hong Kong Cricket Association. For further information, please contact Dave Poon or Danny Lai at (852) 2504-8101.