The Newfoundland Super Kings did what they had to do Saturday, win their final game of the schedule, to finish first in Cricket NL Summer League.
The Super Kings downed the Royal Challengers 175-110 to claim the Senthil Selvamani Trophy by two points. Selvamani is a former Cricket NL president and coach and a major force in the development of cricket in the province.
The Super Kings topped the table of the five-team league with an 11-record and in doing so ended the reign of the NL Avengers, who had claimed the title the previous four seasons. The Super Kings had also halted what had been a two-year unbeaten streak for the Avengers by winning a head-to-head meeting mid-season.
League awards were presented at the conclusion of the season. Nick Baxter (NSK) was named MVP, averaging over 100 runs per innings with the bat, and with his left-arm pace bowling earning 19 wickets at an economy of just 3.1.
Rahul Vashishtha (Avengers) was co-winner as best batter, scoring over 500 runs and sharing the award with teammate Maanik Arora, who made 456 runs.
Mukul Dhawan (Royal Challengers) was top bowler with 20 wickets. The best fielder award was shared between Mohammed Zilani (NL Tigers) and Raga Ganesan (NSK). The best newcomer award went to Akash Singh.
Most spirited awards were made to players on each team, with Jaspreet Bajwa(Avengers), Khurram Shezzad (Eagles), Randeep Sidhu (NSK), Amit Neghandi (Royal Challengers) and Fahad Hossain (NL Tigers) earning the honours
While the Summer League has concluded, the local cricket season isn’t done.
Still to be concluded are Cup games, including a best-of-three series between the NSK and the runners-up Avengers. That series began Saturday, with the Avengers beating NSK, however Sunday’s scheduled matches were postponed because of weather.