The first leg of Emirates D10 produces 186 boundaries and 115 sixes from 12 matches

By K.R. Nayar

The stage is set for the second round of Emirates D10 with Sharjah winning all their four matches, and Emirates Blues and Fujairah in a hot chase to clinch the top spot. Emirates Blues’ Muhammad Boota and Fujairah’s Chirag Suri have been the star performers with the bat while Sharjah’s Umair Ali and Kashif Daud are the top performers with the ball.

Muhammad Boota 

The first leg of the Fancode Emirates D10 2021 powered by SKY 247 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium ended with a blaze of 186 boundaries and 115 sixes being scored from the 12 matches of the second edition of this event.
Sharjah leads the points table with four out of four victories and eight points. Emirates Blues is in second place with six points - three victories from four matches, followed by Fujairah, also with six points gathered through three victories from four matches.  Ajman and Dubai have two points each while Abu Dhabi is yet to record a victory.
Emirates Blues’ Muhammad Boota and Fujairah’s Chirag Suri are the star performers with the bat so far. Boota is the highest scorer with 169 runs from four matches, closely followed by Suri with 112 runs from four matches. So far, seven half centuries have been scored in the event.

Chirag Suri 

As far as bowling is concerned, Sharjah’s Umair Ali with ten wickets from four matches leads the table while his teammate  Kashif Daud with eight wickets from four matches is in the second place.

Match summaries

Match 1. First day March 24, 2021 first match:
Emirates Blues beat Dubai by 9 wickets
Toss: Emirates Blues, elected to bowl

The opening match of the Fancode Emirates D10 2021 powered by SKY 247 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium saw Emirates Blues display their batting strength to subdue Dubai by 9 wickets. Dubai, who were asked to bat first by Emirates Blues after losing the toss, posted an impressive 120 for 2 in 10 overs. Their young cricketers Fahad Nawaz and Ronak Panoly sparkled with the bat. Twenty-one-year-old Fahad Nawaz, who had captained the UAE Under-19 team, cracked an unbeaten 66 with four sixes and five boundaries. Eighteen-year-old Ronak Panoly too scored an unbeaten 31 off just 14 balls with three sixes and one boundary.
Emirates Blues raced to the target through some splendid batting from opener CP Rizwan, who top scored with 40 runs, and Mohammad Boota’s unbeaten 39. Laxman Manjrekar, who chipped in with a breezy unbeaten 39 off just 14 balls, won the Player of the Match award for his brilliant acceleration of the score. Emirates won the match in 8.5 overs.

Match 2. First day March 24, 2021 second match:
Sharjah beat Fujairah by nine runs
Toss: Fujairah elected to bowl

Fujairah bowlers produced a splendid show to restrict Sharjah to 101 for 3 after winning the toss and electing to field. Fayyaz Ahmed top-scored for Sharjah with an unbeaten 35. 
Sharjah fought back to stop Fujairah at 92 for 6 in 10 overs and record a nine-runs win. The star of Sharjah’s victory was Umair Ali, who bowled brilliantly to pick two wickets for 31 and also had hit an invaluable unbeaten 16 to take Sharjah’s score past the 100-run mark.  He bagged the Player of the Match award.
For Fujairah, Young Alishan Sharafu hit a stubborn 32 runs, but Sharjah’s fielding led by Rohan Mustafa was outstanding. Mustafa took two catches and also picked a wicket, while Junaid Siddiqui, Abu Dhabi T10’s star bowler, chipped in with one wicket giving away only 17 runs from his two overs. Fujairah skipper Ahmad Raza, through three towering sixes, hit an unbeaten 20 and almost pulled his team close to the total.

Umair Ali

Match 3. First day March 24, 2021 third match:
Emirates Blues beat Ajman by 10 wickets
Toss: Ajman elected to bat

Ajman bowed before the might of Emirates Blues after winning the toss and electing to bat. They could post only 86 for 7 with Ameer Hamza alone rising to the challenge with 33 runs. Their batsmen were unable to handle the accurate pace from Sharjah’s Akif Raja, who took two wickets for just nine runs from his two overs.  CP Rizwan also bowled brilliantly to bag two wickets for 12 runs.
Chasing the target, Muhammad Boota steered Emirates Blues to the target in just 7.4 overs through his unbeaten 71 off 31 balls studded with 10 boundaries and three sixes. Rizwan played second fiddle with an unbeaten 14 in the emphatic ten-wicket win. Mohammad Boota bagged the Player of the Match for his splendid batting.

Match 4. Second day March 25, 2021 first match:
Sharjah beat Ajman by 8 wickets
Toss: Ajman elected to bat

For the second time in succession, Ajman won the toss and elected to bat first.  They posted 106 for 7 in the ten overs through opener Mohammad Kaleem’s 37 runs. They crossed the 100-run mark, thanks to Sultan Ahmed and Nasir Aziz’s unbeaten 12 and 14 runs respectively. Umair Ali (2 for 16) and Rohan Mustafa (2 for 13) were responsible to put the break on Ajman’s batsmen.
Chasing the target, opener Vriitya Aravind (13) and his partner Khalid Shah (27) put on a 44 runs opening partnership. After both the openers fell, Renjit Mani (33n.o) and Rohan Mustafa (21n.o) steered their team to victory in just 7.2 overs. Mustafa bagged the Player of the Match award for his allround show.

Match 5. Second day March 25, 2021 second match
Fujairah beat Dubai by 26 runs
Toss: Dubai elected to bowl

Dubai put up a spirited bowling show to restrict Fujairah’s strong batting to 102 for 7 after winning the toss and electing to field first. Young left-arm spinner Nilansh Keswani was outstanding taking three wickets for 14 runs. He was well backed by leg spinner Mohammad Farooq with two wickets for eight runs. For Fujairah, Chirag Suri top scored with 29 runs. Ali Shan Sharafu and Ahmed Raza chipped in with 18 and 17 runs respectively.
Though the target was gettable, Dubai found Fujairah’s bowling too tough. Their opener Wajid Khan fell for a duck and Fayyaz Ahmed was out for just two runs. Luqman Hazrat with two wickets for 21 runs and Zahoor Khan with 2 for 13, well backed by Ahmed Raza and Muhammad Ayaz with one wicket each, restricted Dubai to 76 for 8 to pull off a 26 runs victory. Raza won the Player of the Match award for his allround show.

Match 6. Second day March 25, 2021 third match
Emirates Blues beat Abu Dhabi by 88 runs
Toss: Abu Dhabi elected to bowl

Abu Dhabi, playing their first match against the strong Emirates Blues team, crashed to a huge 88 runs defeat. Electing to bowl first after winning the toss, Abu Dhabi found Emirates batsmen going for the big shots. Emirates opener Mohammad Boota cracked 50 runs off just 27 balls with seven boundaries and a six. One-drop batsman Laxman Manjrekar accelerated the run flow with an unbeaten 42 off just 16 balls with four sixes and two boundaries to ensure a total of 134 for 4 in the 10 overs.
The Abu Dhabi batsmen found the going tough right from the start. Their batsmen kept falling at regular intervals to the pace of Akif Raja who took three wickets for 12 runs. Leg spinner CP Rizwan speeded up the end of Abu Dhabi innings taking three wickets for just three runs. For Abu Dhabi, opener Mohammad Kamran fought a lone battle with 21 runs. Raja was adjudged the Player of the Match for destroying Abu Dhabi’s top order.

Match 7. Third day March 26, 2021 first match
Fujairah beat Abu Dhabi by 9 wickets
Toss: Fujairah elected to bowl

Fujairah, electing to bowl first after winning the toss, restricted Abu Dhabi to a paltry 69 for 7 in 10 overs. Medium pacer Sanchit Sharma picked the wickets of the openers to set the tempo. Every Fujairah bowler bowled tightly, and Abu Dhabi kept losing wickets at regular intervals.  Mohammad Bashir with 17 runs and Muhammad Muzammil, through an unbeaten 21, were the only two batsmen to reach double figures.
Fujairah raced to the easy target with opener Waseem Muhammmad hitting a breezy 32 off just 11 balls with four sixes and one boundary.  After Waseem got dismissed leg before to Irfan Ayub, opener Jiju Janardhanan and Chirag Suri with unbeaten knocks of 19 and 14 respectively ensured their team’s victory in just 5.3 overs. Sanchit Sharma was adjudged the Player of the Match.

Match 8. Third day March 26, 2021 second match
Sharjah beat Dubai by 61 runs
Toss: Dubai elected to bowl

Through breezy knocks by Renjit Mani and Rohan Mustafa, Sharjah posted a challenging total of 107 for 6 in their 10 overs. Mani’s 37 off 22 balls had six boundaries while Mustafa hit 23 off 15 balls. Sharjah, who were put into bat after Dubai won the toss, could have scored a bigger total but for Dubai's medium pacer Ehtesham Siddiq who picked two wickets for 21 runs.
Dubai got off to shaky start losing their first three wickets for 15 runs in just two overs. Sharjah’s medium pacer Kashif Daud had opener Rudra Mahadev and Bilal Cheema caught behind. He then went on to pick two more wickets to return with deadly figures of 4 for 13. Umair Ali, taking three wickets for 11 runs, and Mustafa bagging two wickets for eight runs, bowled out Dubai for a paltry 46 runs in 8.4 overs. Kashif Daud bagged the Player of the Match award for his deadly four wicket spell.

Kashif Daud 

Match 9. Third day March 26, 2021 third match
Ajman beat Abu Dhabi by 34 runs
Toss: Ajman elected to bat

Asif Khan steered Ajman to an impressive total of 119 for 7 in 10 overs through a fine knock of 76 runs.  Ajman continued to elect to bat after winning the toss. Khan dominated Abu Dhabi's bowling through his 27 ball knock that contained five sixes and seven boundaries. Abu Dhabi’s Fayyaz Ahmed took two wickets for 32 runs.
Chasing the target,  none of the Abu Dhabi batsmen were able to settle down and post a big total. Except for Irfan Ayub, who top scored with 22 runs and Riyan Mohammad (19) and Waqas Gohar (18), none of the other batsmen reached double figures. Ajman’s bowling attack was led by skipper Nazir Aziz (2 for 24) Sheraz Ahmed (2 for 12) and Amer Hamza (2 for 6). Asif Khan bagged the Player of the Match award for his superb knock.

Match 10. Fourth day March 27, 2021 first match
Dubai beat Abu Dhabi by five wickets
Toss: Abu Dhabi elect to bat

Abu Dhabi elected to bat first after winning the toss and posted 89 for 8 in 10 overs mainly due to a fine fighting knock from Ali Abid. He kept the score board moving despite wickets falling around him through his 61 runs off 25 balls with six sixers and three boundaries. Dubai's spinners Muhammad Farooq (3 for 18) and young left-arm spinner Nilansh Keswani (2 for 24) ensured Abu Dhabi did not cross the 100-run mark.
Chasing the target, Dubai kept losing wickets at regular intervals. They were four wickets down for 48 runs at the halfway stage. In the end, 23 runs were needed off the last 16 balls. Abu Dhabi’s Waqas Gohar gave away just five runs in the eighth over to tighten the situation. Dubai’s Sharukh Sheikh took up the challenge and hit the first ball of the ninth over from skipper Yodhin Punja for a six over mid-on.  He hit the next too for another six to the same region. Then he followed it with another sparkling shot through the covers for a boundary. Sharukh hit the winning shot off the fifth ball through a classy cover drive boundary with seven balls remaining.  Dubai’s leg spinner Muhammad Farooq bagged the Player of the Match award for his fine three wicket spell that restricted Abu Dhabi.

Match 11. Fourth day March 27, 2021 second match
Fujairah beat Emirates Blues by eight runs
Toss: Fujairah elect to bat

In the battle between Fujairah and Emirates Blues, the two strongest teams in the tournament, Fujairah won by eight runs. Fujairah's skipper Ahmed Raza won the toss and elected to bat. His decision was well backed by his batsmen who posted an impressive 126 for 4.  Fujairah 0pener Waseem Muhammad unleased his powerful strokes to hit a breezy 35 off 15 balls with four sixes and one boundary. After Waseem fell,  Chirag Suri took charge and hit a power-packed 64 runs off 30 balls with eight boundaries and three sixes to swell Fujairah’s total.
Emirates  Blues’ chase began losing the prize wicket of CP Rizwan to a diving catch by Fujairah skipper Ahmed Raza at mid-on off the bowling of Muhammad Ayaz. In the sixth over, Raza had the dangerous Mohammad Boota stumped for 9.  Then began the test of nerves. With 61 runs needed off the last 24 balls, Emirates’ Waheed Ahmad hit two boundaries and a six off Waseem Muhammad. This reduced the margin to 45 runs off the last 18 balls. In the end, Emirates needed 24 runs off the last over. Raza introduced himself to bowl the last over, only to see his first two deliveries being smashed for two successive sixes by Mohammad Azhar. Needing eight runs off the last two balls, Raza forced Azhar to hit high to Usman at long-off and ended his knock of 33 off 14 balls with four sixes and thus pull off a exciting eight-run win. Waheed Ahmed’s 40 runs and Azhar’s 33 runs went in vain. Chirag Suri bagged the Player of the Match award for his splendid knock.

Match 12. Fourth day March 27, 2021 third match
Sharjah beat Abu Dhabi by six wickets
Toss: Abu Dhabi elect to bat

Sharjah’s opener Vriitya Aravind was the star of the Abu Dhabi - Sharjah clash. This 18-year-old sparkled under the Sharjah Stadium lights through some spectacular shots while steering Sharjah to an emphatic six-wicket win.  His 53 runs off 25 balls studded was studded with six boundaries and three sixes.
Abu Dhabi, after winning the toss and electing to bat, could muster only 85 for 7 in 10 overs. Sharjah’s accurate and in-form bowler Umar Ali bagged three wickets for 11 runs. Sharjah’s opening bowler Kaushif Duad too chipped in with two wickets for 22 runs. For Abu Dhabi, opener Mazhar Bashir top scored with 19 runs while one-drop Mohammad Riyan scored 15 runs. Sharjah's bowlers ensured that none of their batsmen settled down for a big score.
Chasing the easy target, Aravind unleashed his shots. All his sixes were well executed and brilliantly timed before he got caught behind by wicketkeeper Mohammad Kamran off Waqas Gohar. He bagged the Player of the Match award for his sparkling knock.