Sweet and swift win for Colatta Chocolates while MGM Cricket Club down Fair Deal Defenders

By K.R. Nayar

Colatta Chocolates recorded a sweet and swift win over Dubai Aviators while MGM Cricket Club beat Fair Deal Defenders in the Sharjah Ramadan League 2022 powered by Fancode T20 tournament at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The star of Colatta Chocolates win was their opener Janaka Chaturanga who cracked an unbeaten 78 off just 37 balls with eight boundaries and five sixes after his team had restricted Dubai Aviators to 135 for 7.  Janaka’s knock took the team to the target in just 11.2 overs.


In another match, MGM Cricket Club defeated Fair Deal Defenders by 57 runs through an allroundshow from Muhammad Hassan. Top scoring with 32 runs, Muhammad Hassan helped his team post 164 runs, and he also bagged two wickets for just eight runs to restrict Fair Deal Defenders to 107 in 15.5 overs.

It was the 'go for the kill' attitude displayed by both winning teams that resulted in their victories. MGM batted aggressively right from their captain and opener Ansar Khan scoring 23 runs in 17 balls with two boundaries and two sixes. They lost opener Faisur Raham caught by Suleman Khalid off Wajid Khan for 8 and Laxman Manjrekar run out for 4. That was when Muhammad Hassan set the tone for a challenging total. Ansar Khan got bowled by Farhan Ahmad but Rahul Chopra stayed on to hit 11 runs before being caught behind by Muhammad Imran off Yasir Maharvi for 11. The team raced to the challenging total mainly due to young Aayan Afsal Khan hitting 30 off 28 balls before being caught behind off Khalid Ibrahim. Mayank Kumar too scored 38 runs before getting run out.


Chasing the target, Fair Deal Defenders lost opener Fahad Tariq clean bowled by Danish Qureshi for 5. Opener Muhammad Imran Od too followed caught by Qureshi off Ahmad Shafiq for 2. Two-drop batsman Muhammad Imran also became a Qureshi victim when he got caught behind by wicketkeeper Rahul Chopra for a duck.  Three wickets down for 8, Suleman Khalid and Farukkh Kazmi added ten runs together before Suleman got bowled by Ahmad Shafiq for 12. When Farrukh Kazmi got clean bowled by Saifullah Noor for 2, half the side was back in the dug-out for 31. Fair Deal Defenders would have got bowled out for a total under 100 runs but for Rizwan Amanat’s fighting 32 runs and Salman Babar’s unbeaten 30.
Muhammad Hassan speeded up the victory by dismissing Rizwan Amanat, caught behind by Chopra. Aayan Afzal Khan then wiped off the tail swiftly trapping Farhan Ahmad leg before for 1 and also clean bowling captain Yasir Maharvi for 1, and his team won by 57 runs.

In Dubai Aviators vs Colotta Chocolate match, Dubai Aviators paid the price for their batsmen not producing a strong partnership despite settling down. Though they lost their opener, Ridge Menezes, caught by Laxman Sreekumar off Manpreet Singh for 9. Opener Azlam Azeez scored 36 runs. One-drop Rahul Kataria, after entering double figures, got caught by Renjit Mani of Laxman Sreekumar for 14. Laxman also clean bowled Sunny Ravikumar for 3. Their captain, Chetan Rane, after settling down got run out for 26, and Azim Ibrahim Golandaz hit 21 before being bowled by Muhammad Zeeshan.

Chasing Dubai Aviators total of 135 for 7 needed a strong start. Though Colatta Chocolates lost their opener and captain Renjit Mani for 3, Janaka Chaturanga and Nikhil Srinivasan dominated the bowling attack. Srinivasan remained unbeaten on 45 off 26 balls with six boundaries while Janaka carried his team to victory quickly through his unbeaten 78.

Brief scores:
Colatta Chocolates bt Dubai Aviators by 9 wkts. Dubai Aviators 135 for 7 in 20 overs (Azlam Azeez 36, Chetan Rane 26, Azim Golandaz 21, Manpreet Singh 2 for 27, Laxman Sreekumar 2 for 16) Colatta Chocolates 136 for 1 in 11.2 overs (Janaka Chaturanga 78n.o,  Nikhil Srinivasan 45n.o) Man of the Match: Janaka Chaturanga

MGM Cricket Club bt Fair Deal Defenders by 57 runs. MGM Cricket Club 164 in 19.5 overs (Ansar Khan 23, Muhammad Hassan 32, Rizwan Amanat 2 for 25) Fair Deal Defenders 107 in 15.5 overs (Rizwan Amanat 32, Salman Babar 30n.o, Danish Qureshi 2 for 10, Ahmad Shafiq 2 for 18, Saifullah Noor 2 for 13, Aayan Afzal Khan 2 for 19, Muhammad Hassan 2 for 8) Man of the Match: Muhammad Hassan

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