It was an unforgettable journey for Defenders 11 Cricket Club who beat Gujurat Tridents in the finals of the Ghana Premier Cup Tennis Ball Cricket Championship at the Achimota Cricket Oval on Sunday, July 27, 2025.
Organised by Champions United and sponsored by Codex Computers and Indian Salt n Pepper Restaurant, the 12 Club, 4 groups of 3 championship, saw the likes of Devnik United, Royal Stars Tema, Indian Strikers Kumasi, Accra Titans, Salt n Pepper and DPS Plastic Tamil Pasanga join the finalists in tough quarter final matches, from their respective groups after a single round robin.
The one-day championship was also sponsored by Jaykay, Trendz Hair Studio, Kodak Paints, Indobey Global Ltd and Can-West.
Quarter Finals
From group A, runner-up DPS Plastic Tamil Pasanga booked a semi-final berth, beating Group B leaders, Accra Titans by 10 wickets, after 44/5 and 45/0 in 3.1 overs. It was revenge for DPS, who lost a final of the Rotary Club Championship easily in June.
Defenders 11, who finished 2nd in Group B after losing to Accra Titans, went on to defeat Group A leaders Royal Stars Tema by 9 wickets, after 55/3 and 57/1 in 4 overs.
Devnik United topped Group C with a 100% winning record and went on to beat Group D runner-up, Indian Strikers Kumasi by 8 wickets. Hard-hitting Indian Strikers lost their momentum and scored only 22/7, while Devnik scored 23/2 in 1.5 overs.
The last quarter final match saw finalist Gujurat Tridents, (who were also runners up in Group C) defeat Salt n Pepper by just 1 run in a tight battle in the middle on Oval B. Gujurat scored 49/4 and worked so hard to limit Salt n Pepper to 48/5. The last ball which was to go for 4, to seal victory for Salt n Pepper got 2, with a run out on Bharani Kumar.
SEMIS
Defenders 11 took things a bit higher, with the likes of Juby John (1.0-0-6-2), Abin Ashok (1.0-0-6-2), Shibin 16(7) and captain Arun 10(8) ensuring they beat Devnik by 9 wickets, after 34/6 and 37/1 in 3 overs to book a spot in the finals.
Gujurat on the other side were on fire, as they scored 57/3 on the first innings in their match against DPS Plastic Tamil Pasanga. Devender Singh Malik took the game into his hands and scored 34 runs, off 10 balls, while great bowling from Rizwan Shakir and Waqas Lefty saw DPS manage 46/5 and Gujurat won by 11 runs.
FINAL
It was a tight final on Oval B, as Director General of the National Sports Authority, Yaw Ampofo Ankrah watched on.
Gujurat won toss and pushed Defenders 11 to the crease first. Defenders scored 50/5 while Waqas, Anmol Singh and captain Aqeel Israr took 1 wicket each. Sachin Saatu 28(13) and Albin Abraham 14 (8) held things up a bit for Defenders, when the first 2 wickets fell.
In the second innings, Defenders dislodged the batting order of Gujurat, avoiding a partnership that could seal victory for them. Big wickets like Anmol and Syed Abdul Muqeet and Devender fell in a dramatic manner to give Defenders a sail, with the magical bowling of Arun, Abhin Ashok, Tijin and Juby John. Defenders 11 won by 3 runs, while Gujurat managed 47/7.
AWARDS
Defenders 11 did not only lift the giant trophy but drove away a cash prize of GH₵10,000.00 and medals, while runners up, Gujurat Tridents also had a trophy and medals, with cash prize of GH₵6,000.00.
All player of the match winners for the 19 matches were presented with goodies from sponsors plus medals. Halim Khan of Accra Titans, with a total of 102 runs, won the best batter accolade and had a wonderful plaque, medals and other juicy prizes. Sukh Sangu of Devnik United won the best fielder accolade with 6 dismissals and 6 catches.
Defender’s Abin Ashok was best bowler with 6 wickets taken and 14 dots, ahead of Gujurat’s Rizwan, also with 6 wickets but 10 dots. Youngster, Sachin of DPS was adjudged the emerging player of the tournament and received a beautiful plaque.
The ultimate individual accolade, the most valuable player went to DPS Plastic Tamil Pasanga’s Sam Michael Merbin who had 11.7 points in total from all round performance, point 3 more ahead of Sachin Saatu. Merbin took 5 wickets and scored 49 runs in 5 matches.
Yaw Ampofo Ankrah, DG of NSA expressed his excitement in the game and hope the Ghana Cricket Association gets some quality players in the national team to keep the game high, while commending Champions United for a great tournament.
By: Davis Nii Attuquaye Clottey
