Red Flower Tourism and Alubond Tigers are through to the final of the Al Dhaid Ramadan Cup following contrasting wins in the Sharjah Cricket Council-organised tournament.
After a thrilling first semi-final where Red Flower Tourism edged Passion Cricket Club by a mere two runs, Alubond Tigers romped to a huge 153-run win over Desert Cubs Cricket Academy.
Yaqoob Masih was the star of Red Flower Tourism’s win, scoring a brilliant 60-ball 113, which included nine fours and seven sixes, to help Red Flower Tourism put 214 for three on the board. He was almost overshadowed, however, by Badi Sayed and Tausif Jamadar with their belligerent knocks for Passion Cricket Club in the chase.
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Opening the innings, Sayed smashed a 34-ball 74, including eight maximums, and Jamadar looked in a punishing mood as well, scoring 73 off only 34 balls. But two run outs in the closing stages of the innings, especially that of Mehar Chayyakar (30), meant Passion Cricket Club came up agonisingly short, finishing with 212 for six from their 20 overs.
In the other semi-final, Shahid Sadique fired an unbeaten 114 and Rohan Mustafa contributed a 39-ball 47 as the Alubond Tigers put up 199 for two batting first.
That target proved well beyond the reach of the Desert Cubs, who were bowled out for a paltry 46 in 14.3 overs with only one of their batsman, Aruna Imendra (13), reaching double figures.
Rameez Rameez was the pick of the bowlers for Alubond, taking four wickets for 11 runs, while Amjad Javed, Sultan Ahmed and Nasir Aziz took two each.
There were a couple of centurions in the Umm Al Quwain Ramadan T20 Bash, but Abbas Badri's unbeaten ton for Aen Dubai was in vain as his team lost by 10 wickets to Zulekha Cricket Club.
Opening the innings, Badri returned unbeaten on a brilliant 72-ball 122, with 15 fours and two sixes, as Aen Dubai posted a challenging 177 for six, but Zulekha reached their target without losing a wicket thanks to Syed M Hassan’s bludgeoning 38-ball 121, including 12 boundaries and 11 maximums. Farhan Babar scored a 28-ball 48 from the other end.
In the other matches of the tournament, Bangla Youth Cricket Club defeated Dubai Rangers by five wickets, with Mo Salauddin (46) anchoring their run-chase, while Rashid Ali’s smashing an unbeaten 73 in TNS Group LLC’s seven wicket win over W Wilson Healthcare CC.
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