Summary
The Thambapanni Lions and Stride Leos were crowned 2025 Kadak Premier League Champions yesterday after a whirlwind finals day at the U-Pro Indoor Sports Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The Lions collected a winners cheque of AED 33,000 (USD 9,000) and their first KPL trophy after a seven-run win over the JLT Challengers in the final. Meanwhile, the Leos beat out the Thambapanni Vipers by just five runs to win back-to-back titles in the Women’s division.
Men’s Division
A well-contested final saw the Lions post 34 after winning the toss and opting to bat first. Tournament MVP Matthew Floros was the only Challengers player to take a wicket, whilst Adnan Khan and Hemant Chandra chipped in 11 runs as the highest pair for the Lions. was the only Challengers player to take a wicket, which saw his side need 4.50 runs per over to win the title.
The Challengers stayed in the contest, with 20 runs after six seeing them need 15 runs off the final two overs. But wickets firstly to Ali Sheikh, and then two more to Chandra in the final over was enough to ice the game and bring the title to the Lions.
Earlier in the day, round-robin play concluded with the Lions and Challengers securing first and second, and automatic qualification for the semi-finals. The Avengers (third), Dynamos (fourth), Tigers (fifth) and Freestylers (sixth) would play off in the qualifiers to join Lions and Challengers in the semi-finals. Last year’s champions, the Strikers, lost their last round-robin game to the last-placed Incredibles, and fell out of the top six as a result.
In the qualifiers, the Tigers beat the Dynamos to reach the semi-finals for the second year running, whilst the Avengers’ 58-run hammering of the Freestylers also saw them grab a semi-final spot.
In the semi-finals, the Challengers overpowered the Tigers by 38-14, whilst the Lions’ 31-10 win over the Avengers saw a grand final showdown between the two best sides in the competition.
Results – Men’s Division
Grand Final: Full Scorecard
Lions 34 (Khan/Chandra 11, Parys/Bhatti 0/4) def Challengers 27 (Bhatti/Riasat 9, Vyas 1/-2) by seven runs
MVP: Daivik Rai, Lions
Other Results
Semi-Final 1:
Challengers 38 def Tigers 14
MVP: Taimur Bhatti, Challengers
Semi-Final 2:
Lions 31 def Avengers 10
MVP: Daivik Rai, Lions
Qualifier 1:
Tigers 44 def Dynamos 30
MVP: Ryan Jackson, Tigers
Qualifier 2:
Avengers 63 def Freestylers 5
MVP: Prashath Kumara, Avengers
Round-Robin – Session 1:
Blasters 46 (2) def Incredibles 19 (2)
MVP: Arjun Manohar, Blasters
Dynamos 39 (3) def Kabab Rolls -11 (1)
MVP: Ashik Vik, Dynamos
Round-Robin – Session 2:
Incredibles 35 (1) def Strikers 12 (3)
MVP: Anshu Gopal, Strikers
Tigers 35 (3) def Warriors 26 (1)
MVP: Sethuraj Karate, Tigers
Avengers 28 (2) def Kabab Rolls 13 (2)
MVP: Tharindu Mendis, Avengers
Lions 37 (2) def Dynamos 32 (2)
Daya Shetty, Lions
Round-Robin – Session 3:
Challengers 56 (3) def Avengers 51 (1)
MVP: Usman Munir, Avengers
Lions 45 (4) def Freestylers 36 (0)
MVP: Saqib Nazir, Lions
Final Standings after Round-Robin
Lions (Q: Semi-Final)
Challengers (Q: Semi-Final)
Avengers (Q: Qualifier)
Dynamos (Q: Qualifier)
Tigers (Q: Qualifier)
Freestylers (Q: Qualifier)
Strikers
Blasters
Kabab Rolls
Warriors
Incredibles
Women’s Division
The Stride Leos became champions for a second time after defeating the Vipers by five runs in a close-run final.
The Leos batted first and put together 42 off the back of a 19-run second pair effort from Adelaide Campion and Zonika Olivier. In the chase, a couple of early wickets set back the Vipers, who were left needing 24 off the final two overs. Despite the efforts of Gayathri Kariyawasam and Udara Bandara, who put together 18 without a dismissal, it wasn’t enough as the Leos retained the title they won in the inaugural Women’s division last year.
Earlier, the round-robin concluded with the Vipers, despite a loss to the Panthers, qualifying first and earning direct entry into the final. The Panthers were also dealt a loss by the Leos, who won their last two games to finish third behind the Panthers, with both teams clashing in the preliminary final.
The Leos defeated the Panthers 39-10 in the preliminary final, their third straight win of the day, to make the grand final, and their momentum continued right to the trophy for a second time running.
Results – Women’s Division
Grand Final: Full Scorecard
Leos 42 (Campion/Olivier 19, Campion 2/-4) def Vipers 37 (Kariyawasam/Bandara 18, Rajapaksha 2/-8 by five runs
MVP: Lakmali Rajapaksha, Vipers
Preliminary Final:
Leos 49 def Panthers 10
MVP: Himasha Kumarage, Leos
Round-Robin – Session 1:
Leos 51 (3) def Panthers 23 (1)
MVP: Zonika Olivier, Leos
Vipers 59 (3) def Queens 23 (1)
MVP: Methma Hetiarachchi, Vipers
Round-Robin – Session 2:
Panthers 51 (3) def Vipers 37 (1)
MVP: Harini Dossprakash, Panthers
Leos 41 (4) def Queens 3 (0)
MVP: Chamani Seneviratne, Leos
Final Standings after Round-Robin
Vipers (Q: Final)
Panthers (Q: Preliminary Final)
Leos (Q: Preliminary Final)
Queens
Prize List – Men’s Division
*All champions and runners-up team cash prizes will be distributed via 50% to each member of the squad by the KPL Organising Committee, and 50% to the team owner, who can distribute this portion to the squad members at their discretion.
The player of the match from the winning side of each match played during the tournament received AED 150, and best player from the losing side received AED 100.
Award
Player/Team
AED Prize
Champions
Thambapanni Nahda Lions
33,000*
Runners-Up
SS JLT Challengers
16,500*
Most Valuable Player
Matthew Floros (Challengers)
1,750
Best International Player
Kabeer Imtiaz (Lions)
1,000
Best Bowler
Brad Millynn (Azha Mamzar Freestylers)
1,000
Best Batter
Shijas Backer
(KG Dubai Hills Dynamos)
1,000
Best Division A Player
Naufal Basheer
(Challengers)
500
Best Division B Player
Muhammad Asif (AAJ Downtown Strikers)
500
Best Division C Player
Nilansh Keswani
(Freestylers)
500
Best Rising Star
Sagar Chaturvedi (Freestylers)
500
Best Kadak Category Player
Chatuka Silva (Spofit365 Business Bay Avengers)
500
Prize List – Women’s Division
Award
Player/Team
AED Prize
Champions
Stride Leos
4,000
Runners-Up
Thambapanni Vipers
2,000
Most Valuable Player
Marama Downes
(Phoenix Qusais Queens)
1,000
Best International Player
Malorie Bartosh-Short
(Avengers Panthers)
1,000
Best Bowler
Himasha Kumarage
(Stride Leos)
250
Best Batter
Chamani Seneviratne
(Stride Leos)
250
Fixtures, Results, Standings and Statistics
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Image: U-Pro Indoor Cricket