Runners-up in the Al Dhaid Ramadan Cup last weekend, Red Flowers Tourism will be hoping to go one better in the Sharjah Ramadan Cup after booking their place in the final with a six-wicket win over Dubai Hawks.
It was no easy task as the Hawks – led by a blazing 42-ball 71 (5x4, 4x6) from their UAE star Shaiman Anwar, and a 37-ball 69 (4x4, 6x6) from Shahzad Malik – posted an imposing 202 for six on the board. But given their red-hot recent form, Red Flowers made the target look easy and crossed it in style, with a six in 17.4 overs.
Virtually the full Red Flowers squad came to the party. Shafadat Ali and Mubashir Ahmed took two wickets apiece, then Waqas Raja (35) and Yaqoob Nasia (18) got the chase off to a brisk start, scoring 52 runs from only 25 deliveries for the opening wicket partnership.
Yasir Kaleem (29, 23b, 2x4, 2x6) kept the momentum going, but at 106 for four in the 11th over, the target still looked distant with 97 needed from the last nine overs.
Salman Randhawa, however, changed the complexion of the match. He scored a bludgeoning, unbeaten 84 off 27 balls, as Red Flowers got the remaining 97 runs in only 6.4 overs, with Rinku Kumar returning unbeaten on 28 (26balls, 2x4, 2x6).
Randhawa’s incredible knock was studded with 10 sixes, including five on a single over and three boundaries.
Given the manner of their win, Red Flowers will certainly go in as the favoured team in the final against Multiplex International, who defeated UBL by three wickets in the other semis, thanks to an unbeaten 84 (42b, 7x6, 3x4) from Abdul Shakoor.
Asked to bat first, UBL made a decent start and finished with 186 for six, thanks to a fine 35-ball 47 from opener Syed Maqsood and a belligerent 36-ball 67 (4x4, 5x6) from Mohammed Boota. UAE star Mohammad Naveed chipped in with a 13-ball cameo of 27.
Multiplex International did not make a great start to their chase, losing Sapandeep Singh to the first delivery of the innings and wickets kept falling at regular intervals, but Shakoor managed to find just enough support from the lower middle order to take his team across the line.
Results
Red Flowers Tourism d. Dubai Hawks by six wickets.
• Dubai Hawks: 202 for six in 20 overs (Fahad Tariq 16, Shaimon Anwar 71, Shahzad Malik 69, Bilal Irshad 14, Ahmed Shoukat 23 not out; Shafadat Ali 2 for 42, Mubashir Ahmed 2 for 27).
• Red Flowers Tourism: 207 for four in 17.4 overs (Waqas Raja 35, Yaqoob Nasia 18, Yasir Kaleem 29, Rinku Kumar 28 not out, Salman Randhawa 84 not out; Naqash Basharat 2 for 58).
• Man of the match: Salman Randhawa.
Multiplex International d. UBL by three wickets.
• UBL: 186 for six in 20 overs (Syed Maqsood 47, Humayun Ashraf 11, Shahzad Manna 11, Mohammad Boota 67, Bilal Azmat 11, Mohammad Naveed 27; Abdul Haq 2 for 39).
• Multiplex International: 187 for seven in 19.3 overs (Haroon Ahmed 11, Ali Zeeshan 13, Aklaq Butt 12, Mohammad Yasir 29, Abdul Shakoor 85 not out, Zeeshan Khan 19, Abdul Haq 12; Bilal Azmat 3 for 30, Hafeez Ur Rehman 2 for 38).
• Man of the match: Abdul Shakoor. Umpires: Syed Shabbir Ali and Naveed Ismail. Scorers: Zameel Hameed and M Asif.
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