Deadly bowling spell by Sheraz amidst a run spree from Asif Khan, Muhammad Boota, and Usman Khan
By K.R. Nayar
The fifth day of the Emirates D10 produces splendid bowling and batting displays as Emirates Blues move to the top of the table. The number of big hits shoots up from 115 sixes from 12 matches to 152 sixes today. So intense is the battle at the top that three teams are on eight points while Ajman is in the fourth place with four points.
A deadly spell from Ajman pacer Sheraz Ahmad and three sparkling half-centuries made the fifth day of the Fancode Emirates D10 2021 powered by SKY 247 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium even more exciting.
Emirates Blues in-form batsman Muhammad Boota continued his runs spree with an unbeaten 50 to ensure that his team gets to the top of the points table. Ajman’s Asif Khan played knocks of an unbeaten 57 against Dubai and 73 against Fujairah to replace Boota as the highest run-getter in the tournament so far with 229 runs from five matches. Boota trails second with 219 runs in five matches.
Another batsman to crack a half-century was Fujairah opener, Usman Khan, with a knock of 52 in his team’s win over Ajman. The best bowling spell amidst the run spree came from Ajman’s accurate pacer Sheraz Ahmed who bagged four wickets for just eight runs against Dubai.
The boundaries and six-hitting continued with the number of boundaries swelling from 186 boundaries and 115 sixes from 12 matches to 227 boundaries and 152 sixes in 15 matches. Most of the sixes sailed out of the ground, displaying the power and timing of the hard-hitting batsmen from the UAE.
Match 13. Fifth day March 29, 2021, first match:
Ajman beat Dubai by 10 wickets
Toss: Dubai won the toss and elected to bat
Ajman’s medium pacer, Sheraz Ahmad, through a deadly spell of
four wickets for just eight runs from his two overs, restricted Dubai to 83 for
7 in 10 overs. None of the Dubai batsmen rose to the challenge after winning
the toss and electing to bat first.
Chasing the small target, Ajman openers Asif Khan and Abdul Shakoor steered
their team to a ten-wicket victory in just 6.4 overs. Asif cracked an unbeaten
57 runs off 24 balls with six sixes and three boundaries. Shakoor,
who played second fiddle, remained unconquered with 26 runs off 16 balls with
three boundaries and a six.
The Dubai batsmen found Sheraz too tough to handle. Sheraz removed the cream of
Dubai's batting by picking the wickets of Wajid Khan for 4, Punya Mehra, and
Ronak Panoly for no score in the second over. Then accurate left-arm spinner
Sultan Ahmed clean bowled opener Fahad Nawaz for 13. Ali Anwar’s knock of 25
runs from 12 balls with three sixes and Sharukh Sheikh’s unbeaten 25 off 15
balls with two sixes and one boundary helped Dubai reach 83 for 7. Sheraz Ahmad
has rightly been judged the Player of the Match for this deadly four-wicket spell.
Match 14. Fifth day March 29, 2021, second match:
Emirates Blues beat Sharjah by 7 wickets
Toss: Emirates won the toss and elected to field
In the battle of the two giant teams in the Fancode Emirates D10 2021 powered by SKY 247 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Emirates Blues defeated Sharjah by 7 wickets. Emirates Blues, after electing to field first, ensured that Sharjah’s strong batting lineup does not get going. Though Sharjah opener Vriitya Aravind started off with a lot of promise playing an exquisite shot to the boundary, he got clean bowled to medium-pacer Akif Raja in the first over. One-drop Renjit Mani and opener Khalid Shah too returned the dug-out quickly with scores of three and four respectively. Rohan Mustafa (43) and Fayyaz Ahmed (26) were able to bring some respect to their total. Mustafa’s knock off 27 balls had three sixes and four boundaries. Umair Ali chipped in with 13 runs to ensure that the total goes past the 100-run mark. Sabir Rao bagged 2 for 24 well backed by Mohammad Azhar with 2 for 32.
Emirates chased the total with Mohammad Boota playing another stupendous knock to remain unbeaten on 50 off 28 balls with three sixes and four boundaries. He put on an opening partnership of 51 runs with young Aryan Lakra (13) in just 4.4 overs to take a firm grip on the match. Waheed Ahmed chipped in with 15 runs. Mustafa’s effort of bagging two wickets for 19 went in vain as Emirates won with five balls to spare. Boota was adjudged Player of the Match for his match-winning knock.
Match 15. Fifth day March 29, 2021, third match:
Fujairah beat Ajman by 8 wickets
Toss: Fujairah won the toss and elected to field
Through a lone battle from opener and in-form batsman Asif Khan, Ajman posted a challenging 115 for 5 in 10 overs. But this total was not enough to stop the strong Fujairah batting lineup from recording a win.
Khan’s knock of 73 off 34 balls had seven powerfully hit sixes and five boundaries. Despite Khan getting no support from the rest of the batsmen, he continued to unleash his strokes. Only Ameer Hamsa with 15 runs reached double figures. Jiju Janardhanan with two wickets from 21 runs stood out, and the others bowled intelligently.
Fujairah raced to the target through their openers Waseem Muhammad and Usman Khan. Both gave a sterling start to the chase through a 94 runs partnership in 6.1 overs. Waseem’s breezy 38 came off 17 balls with four boundaries and two sixes while Usman went on to crack 52 runs off 22 balls with seven boundaries and two sixes. After Usman got run out, Chirag Suri raced his team to the target with an unbeaten 16 with one six and two boundaries off just five balls. Usman bagged the Player of the Match award for his knock that ensured his team an eight-wicket victory in just 7.5 overs.
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