A last ball thriller, two wins off the fifth ball, three half centuries, and a five-wicket spell in the Sharjah Ramadan League 2022 powered by Fancode S10 tournament

By K.R. Nayar

The Sharjah Ramadan League 2022 powered by Fancode S10 tournament at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium had everything that makes a 10 over format tournament exciting. A five wicket spell from Ansar Khan backed by a four wickets from Danish Qureshi destroyed Ajman Heroes’ batting to give MGM Cricket Club a thrilling two-wicket win off the last ball.

The Vision Shipping pulled off a six-wicket win with just one ball remaining against Karwan Strkers through a sparkling unbeaten 62 from Shahbaz Ali. Like Shahbaz’s unbeaten knock, Sandeep Singh, cracking an unbeaten 59, ensured a fifth ball last over win for InterGlobe Marine over arch rivals Brothers Gas. There were other emphatic wins too in the other matches that provided entertainment through some brilliant individual performances.  

Ansar and Danish share nine wickets

MGM Cricket Club’s win over Sharjah Ramadan T20 Plate winners Ajman Heroes was a well fought one. Danish Qureshi and Ansar Khan shared nine wickets between them with spells of 4 for 11 and 5 for 10 respectively to restrict Ajman Heroes to 80 for 9. MGM won the match through Rahul Chopra’s 41 off 28 balls with four boundaries and a six. It was a dramatic finish with 15 runs coming off the ninth over which included a six and a boundary from Rahul Chopra off Sanchit Sharma before getting bowled to the fifth ball of that over. With three runs needed off the last over from Sait Ibthisam, Danish Qureshi got stumped by wicketkeeper Sheridan Hadfield for 12 off the third ball after bowling two dot balls. Afzal Khan too got run out off the fifth ball but Ahmad Shafiq hit the winning run off the last ball.

Shahbaz a match winner

The six-wicket win by The Vision Shipping in the fifth ball of the last over was an intensely fought high scoring match. Karwan Strikers had posted 126 for 3 through opener Sagar Kalyan’s 29, Ameer Hamza’s unbeaten 28, and Rana Jahandad Khan’s 48.

The chase to the target was another thriller. The Vision Shipping had lost four wickets for 44 runs in 4.4 overs. Despite defeat staring at them, Shabaz Ali and Ali Abid carried their team to victory. Ali Abid hit an unbeaten 28 off 12 balls with three sixes and Shahbaz Ali remained unconquered with 62 off 23 balls with nine boundaries and three sixes. Shahbaz scored two doubles off the third and fourth ball of the last over and took the winning single off the fifth ball from Ameer Hamza.

Aggressive Sandeep a hero again

Another last over win in the fifth ball was InterGlobe Marine’s victory over Brothers Gas. Whenever these two formidable teams play each other, it has always been an exciting end. InterGlobe Marine, fresh from their title triumph in the Sharjah Ramadan T20 Cup, once again displayed their ability to hold their nerves and win matches.  Batting first, Brothers Gas could have posted a bigger total. Opener Jiju Janardhanan hit an unbeaten 26 and Usman Khan too chipped in with 26. Muhammad Waseem too helped their team swell the total through a knock of 41 which came off 20 balls with four sixes and a boundary.  

InterGlobe Marine chased the total through their opener Sandeep Singh, who enjoys dominating the bowling. Yasir Khaleem chipped in with 21 runs.  Muhammad Waseem, bagging three wickets, tried to make it tougher for InterGlobe Marine. Luqman hit Muhammad Waseem for a six in the ninth over to get ten runs off that over. He also hit a six over long on off Jiju Janardhanan in the 10^th over before being bowled to the same bowler in the 10^th over. Sandeep Singh took the winning run off the fifth ball of the last over.

Allround show of Wajid Khan

Fair Deal Defenders defeated Mideast Metals by 6 wickets with one over to spare. Mideast Metals posted 100 for 6 in 10 overs despite losing their opener and skipper Khurram Khaawaja for 5 and his partner Faizan Awan for a duck. Numan Khan and Rizwan with scores of 29 and 39 respectively lifted their team.  Wajid Khan who dismissed Faizwan also removed the consistent Ali Anwaar for 10. This resulted in Mideast Metals only reaching the 100-run mark.

Fair Deal Defenders openers Fahad Tariq and Wajid Khan registered an opening partnership of 41 in 3.3 overs. Fahad fell to Khurram Khawaja for 16 but Wajid Khan kept the scoreboard moving with Suleman Khalid before Wajid got bowled by Faizan Ali for 25. Suleman Khalid, together with Rizwan Amanat, took the score to 91 in 7.2 overs before Suleman Khalid fell to Hazrat Billal for 28. Ali Anwaar also got Rizwan Amanat out for 25. Saud Afzal hit the winning run off the last ball of the ninth over from Ali Anwaar.

Faraazudin shines with bat and ball

Kabul Zalmi paid the price of a poor batting display in front of Future Mattress. Electing to bat first, they were restricted to 48 for 7 with their opener Muhammad Shahzaib scoring 23 runs. None of the other batsmen reached double figures. Umair Ali (2 for 6) and Faraazuddin (2 for 8) were the chief destroyers.

Chasing the target needed only a steady partnership from Future Mattress. Opener Ali Shan Sharafu hit a quick 13 off seven balls with three boundaries while his partner Saif Janjua hit 12 runs off nine balls with a six. Though Wasim Akram struck twice to removed Shoaib Laghari for 1 and Usman for a duck, Faraazuddin hit an unbeaten 18 runs to win the match in 5.4 overs.

Kaif Ramzan’ role in four dismissals

HKSZ’s recorded an easy ten-wicket win over Machos Cricket Club. Put into bat by HKSZ, the Machos Cricket Club could post only 75 for 9 in 10 overs. If not for opener Adeel Rana’s fighting 35 runs, Machos would have folded up for even a smaller total. The destroyer of their innings was Kaif Ramzan who removed Machos’s captain Rajesh Vasundaran for 13 and Muhammad Fazil for a duck. He also clean bowled Vishnu A for 5 and ran out Arshad Mohammad for 1.

HKSZ openers led by Khalil and Shaamil Ramzan chased the total brilliantly. Khalil cracked an unbeaten 57 off 28 balls with seven boundaries and two sixes. Shaamil Ramzan played second fiddle with 19 runs off 13 balls and win the match in 6.5 overs.

Brief scores:

MGM Cricket Club bt Ajman Heroes by 2 wkts. Ajman Heroes 80 for 9 in 10 overs (Adnan Arif 28, Faisal Baig 30, Danish Qureshi 4 for 11, Ansar Khan 5 for 10) MGM Cricket Club 81 for 8 in 10 overs (Rahul Chopra 41, Sanchit Sharma 2 for 35, Ankur Sangwan 3 for 4)
Our Souq Player of the Match: Ansar Khan

The Vision Shipping bt Karwan Strikers by 6 wkts. Karwan Strikers 126 for 3 in 10 overs (Sagar Kalyan 29, Ameer Hamza 28n.o, Rana Jahandad Khan 48, Rohid 2 for 35) The Vision Shipping 127 for 4 in 9.5 overs (Sajjad Ali 20, Ali Abid 28n.o, Shahbaz Ali 62n.o, Tariq Mahmood 2 for 13). 
Our Souq Player of the Match: Shahbaz Ali

Future Mattress bt Kabul Zalmi by 6 wkts. Kabul Zalmi 48 for 7 in 10 overs (Muhammad Shahzaib 23, Umair Ali 2 for 6, Faraazuddin 2 for 8) Future Mattress 54 for 4 in 5.4 overs (Wasim Akram 2 for 15).
Our Souq Player of the Match: Faraazuddin

InterGlobe Marine bt Brothers Gas by 4 wkts. Brothers Gas 107 for 3 in 10 overs (Jiju Janardhanan 26n.o, Usman Khan 26, Muhammad Waseem 41) InterGlobe Marine 108 for 6 in 9.5 overs (Sandeep Singh 59n.o, Yasir Khaleem 21, Muhammad Waseem 3 for 14). 
Our Souq Player of the Match:  Sandeep Singh

HKSZ Stars  bt Machos Cricket Club by 10 wkts. Machos Cricket Club 75 for 9 in 10 overs (Adeel Rana 35, Kaif Ramzan 3 for 15) HKSZ Stars 76 for no loss in 6.5 overs (Khalil 57n.o)  Our Souq Player of the Match:  Kaif Ramzan

Fair Deal Defenders bt Mideast Metals by 6 wkts. Mideast Metals 100 for 6 in 10 overs (Nauman Khan 29, Rizwan 39, Wajid Khan 2 for 13)  Fair Deal Defenders 101 for 4 in 9 overs (Wajid Khan 25, Suleman Khalid 28, Rizwan Amanat 25).
Our Souq Player of the Match:  Wajid Khan