Knockharley crowned Tilliain Cup champions

The Tillian Cup final almost fell victim to the weather on Sunday but when the clear skies appeared at Kenure in north Dublin, Knockharley produced one of the most thrilling run chases of the season and ran out eight-wicket winners over Clontarf.

After a lengthy rain delay, Knockharley skipper Mubeen Ali won the toss and elected to bowl first in what was now an 11-over-a-side tie.

Clontarf got off to a flyer through skipper Yash Bala, before he fell off the final ball of the opening over. That was the story of the innings for the Castle Avenue side, in spite of Henry Thompson’s 34 the longest spell without a wicket in their 11 overs was just 16 balls which meant momentum was hard to come by.

They did manage to make 110/6 from their 11 overs and that left Knockharley a moderate chase in the circumstances.

What followed was anything but moderate in how they went about the chase. The opening partnership between Brandon Kruger and Sayed Zubair was 50 in the first four overs as Zubair seemed to be able to find the boundary almost at will.

The duo carted along with an almost invincible feeling to them, before Kruger finally fell for 33 in the 9th over. However by that stage, there were just 8 runs needed to win, and Zubair had passed 50. He dispatched the ball to the boundary one final time through point to reach their victory target, and in doing so left himself unbeaten on 71 from just 34 deliveries, including 10 fours and three sixes.