Exciting five-run win for Ajman Heroes while Kabul Zalmi win two closely fought matches in the Sharjah Ramadan League 2022 powered by Fancode S10 tournament

By K.R. Nayar

Close finishes have made the ongoing Sharjah Ramadan League 2022 powered by Fancode S10 tournament at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium a delight to watch. Ajman Heroes scored an exciting five-run win over V Eleven Cricket Club while Kabul Zalmi defeated Machos Cricket Club by eight runs and then went on to record a six-wicket win over Rehan Khan Events off the fifth ball of the last over in the pre-quarterfinals.

Wajahat Rasool receives the Player of the Match award from match referee Tehseen Javed

InterGlobe Marine and Dubai Aviators recorded seven-wicket wins over Syed Agah Cricket Club and Machos Cricket Club respectively. MGM Cricket Club went on to record an emphatic 48-runs win over Al Moharb Cricket Academy.

Allround show from Wajahat Rasool

The best all-round show came from Wajahat Rasool of Ajman Heroes in their five runs win over V Eleven Cricket Club in the league round match.  Ajman Heroes, who were asked to bat first, could post only 94 for 7 in the 10 overs. In fact, this total was possible due to Wajahat Rasool’s 38 runs and Adnan Arif’s 20. All the remaining batsmen had mere single digit scores except Sait Ibthisam’s unbeaten 13.

Despite the small total, Ajman Heroes fought valiantly. They had V Eleven opener and captain Fujail Farooqui clean bowled by Nav Pabreja for a duck. Wajahat Rasool then had one-drop Vicky clean bowled for 9. He also had Muhammad Irfan stumped by Adnaan Khan for 11. When Rasool also had Mohammad Ahsan out for a duck, V Eleven Club slipped to 4 for 44 in 6 overs. Though V Eleven’s wicketkeeper batsman Banty Nandy scored an unbeaten 36, he could not take the team to the target and fell short by five runs.

Irfan Khattak’s timely blows

Another exciting league round match was Kabul Zalmi’s eight-run win over Machos Cricket Club.  Kabul Zalmi, after electing to bat first, posted 123 for 3 in the 10 overs. Opener Muhammad Dawood scored 20 before being caught behind by wicketkeeper Ronnie Thomas off Arif.  Amjad Khan scored 33 runs while Sagheer Afridi hit an unbeaten 50 off 21 balls with three boundaries and four sixes.

Irfan Khattak receives the Player of the Match award from match referee Tehseen Javed 

Machos Cricket Club got off to a good start with opener Ashraf Malik scoring 29 runs and his partner Ronnie Thomas hitting 23 runs. Together they put on 58 runs in four overs. However, both fell in quick succession. One-drop Adeel Rana fell to Irfan Khattak for a duck. When Irfan Khattak also got Vishnu S out for 7 after having removed opener Ronnie Thomas too, Machos slipped to 66 for 4. Thought Arif hit 22 runs and Shiyad Meleveetill scored an unbeaten 18, their team fell short of the target by eight runs.

Touqeer Riyasat’s early strikes

InterGlobe Marine’s seven wicket win over Syed Agah Cricket Club was an easy seven wicket win. Syed Agah Cricket Club, who were put in to bat, were restricted to 58 for 7 in 10 overs. Touqeer Riyasat was the man behind it as he had Syed Agah Cricket Club opener Khalid Shah clean bowled for a duck. He also had opener Abdullah Khan caught by Zahid for a duck. One-drop Aryan Saxena too did not stay long as he fell to Asif Mumtaz for 7. But Ansh Tandon stood tall amidst the fall of wickets and scored 27 runs. After he fell to Atta Ullah, then skipper Niaz Kahl too followed clean bowled by Harry Bharwal for 3. No one other than Ansh Tandon scored double figures, and Syed Agah got restricted to 58 for 7.

Touqeer Riyasat receives the Player of the Match award from match referee Tehseen Javed

Chasing the easy target, InterGlobe Marine lost openers Asif Khan for 6 and Sandeep Singh for 9. Yasir Khaleem walked in and played a responsible knock scoring 26 runs off 14 balls with four boundaries and a six, After Yasir Khaleem fell to Sher Khan caught by Aryan Saxena, Amjad Gul hit an unbeaten 10 and took his team to the target in 4.4 overs.

Muhammad Dawood’s valuable knock

In the pre-quarterfinal match too, Kabul Zalmi scored an exciting six-wicket win off the fifth ball of the last over. Rehan Khan Events, after electing to bat first, got restricted to 97 for 4. Abdul Latif Ayobi had opener Wajahat Butt out for 12 and also opener Bilal Malik out for 15. Skipper Rehan Khan played a captain’s knock of 43 runs from 19 balls with four boundaries and three sixes. Though Arif Ibrahim too scored 11 runs, Rehan Events could not cross the 100-run mark.

Muhammad Dawood receives the Player of the Match award from match referee Tehseen Javed 

Chasing the target, Kabul Zalmi lost opener Rafeeq Zaman to Fahadi Janjua for 6. Sagheer Afridi and Muhammad Dawood refused to give away their wicket. Afridi scored 22 while Dawood hit a valuable 47. In the last over from Wasee Ur Rehman, Abdul Latif Ayobi got a four to third man. Off the fifth ball of the last over, Irfan Khattak hit a boundary off Wasee Ur Rehman to deep extra cover and won the match.

A quick win for Dubai Aviators

Dubai Aviators recorded a quick seven-wicket win over Machos Cricket Club. Opting to bat first, Machos Cricket Club got restricted to 43 for 9 in 10 overs. None of their batsmen got going. Opener Ronnier Thomas fell to Ashan Shahzad for 1 while his partner Abdul Majid Nias got run out for a duck. Waqar Hussain clean bowled one-drop Rajesh Vasundaran for 1 and also had Shiyad Meleveetil caught and bowled for a duck. Except for Arif who hit 15 runs, none scored double figures.

Waqar Hussain receives the Player of the Match award from match referee Tehseen Javed

Dubai Aviators lost their opener and captain Azlam Azeez clean bowled by Renji for 5. One drop Muhammad Imran too fell for 2 but opener Saad Jawaid scored 17 runs. Jawaid fell when 12 more runs were needed for victory but Sihab and Waqas Hussain with unbeaten knocks of five runs took their team to the target in 6.2 overs.

Muhammad Hassan and Rahul Chopra shines

MGM Cricket Club too had an easy 48 run win over Al Moharb Cricket Academy in another pre-quarterfinal match. MGM Cricket Club posted 144 for 3 in 10 overs despite losing their openers Muhammad Kaleem for a duck and Hameed Khan 9. Captain Ansar Khan scored 28 runs while the consistent Rahul Chopra scored an unbeaten 47. His knock off 19 balls had two boundaries and four sixes. Muhammad Hassan swelled the total through an unbeaten 52 off 19 balls with five boundaries and four sixes.

Muhammad Hassan receives the Player of the Match award from match referee Tehseen Javed 

Al Moharb Cricket Academy got off to shaky start to the target. Danish Qureshi got opener Gul out for a duck. He also had one-drop Hassan Ali Khan also out for a duck. Ahmad Shafiq clean bowled opener Sheraz Ahmed Khali for 8. Saqib Ul Rehman scored a fighting 62 off 25 balls with two boundaries and seven sixes.  In the end, Al Moharb Cricket Academy could muster only 96 for 5 in 10 overs.

 Brief scores:
InterGlobe Marine bt Syed Agah Cricket Club by 7 wkts.  Syed Agah Cricket Club 58 for 7 in 10 overs (Ansh Tandon 27, Touqeer Riyasat 2 for 9, Harry Bharwal 2 for 11) InterGlobe Marine 61 for 3 in 4.4 overs (Yasir Khaleem 26).
Our Souq Player of the Match: Touqeer Riyasat

Ajman Heroes bt V Eleven Cricket Club by five runs. Ajman Heroes 94 for 7 in 10 overs (Adnan Arif 20, Wajahat Rasool 38, Chand 2 for 11)  V Eleven Cricket Club 89 for 6 in 10 overs (Banty Nandy 36, Intizar Ali 26, Wajahat Rasool 3 for 16).
Our Souq Player of the Match: Wajahat Rasool

Kabul Zalmi bt Machos Cricket Club by 8 runs. Kabul Zalmi 123 for 3 in 10 overs (Muhammed Dawood 20, Amjad Khan 33, Sagheer Afridi 50n.o). Machos Cricket Club 115 for 6 in 10 overs (Ashraf Malik 29, Ronnie Thomas 23, Arif 22, Abdul Latif Ayobi 2 for 22, Irfan Khattak 3 for 6).
Our Souq Player of the Match: Irfan Khattak

Pre-quarterfinals:

Kabul Zalmi bt Rehan Khan Events by 6 wkts.Rehan Khan Events 97 for 4 in 10 overs (Rehan Khan 43, Abdul Latif Ayobi 2 for 18) Kabul Zalmi 100 for 4 in 9.5 overs (Sagheer Afridi 22, Muhammed Dawood 47, Fahadi Janjua 2 for 14).
Our Souq Player of the Match: Muhammed Dawood

Dubai Aviators bt Machos Cricket Club by 7 wkts. Machos Cricket Club 43 for 9 in 10 overs (Waqar Hussain 2 for 8)  Dubai Aviators 46 for 3 in 6.2 overs (Saad Jawaid 17).
Our Souq Player of the Match: Waqar Hussain

MGM Cricket Club bt Al Moharb Cricket Academy by 48 runs. MGM Cricket Club 144 for 3 in 10 overs (Ansar Khan 28, Rahul Chopra 47n.o, Muhammad Hassan 52n.o, Ikram Janjua 2 for 15) Al Moharb Cricket Academy 96 for 5 in 10 overs (Saqib Ul Rehman 62, Danish Qureshi 2 for 6).
Our Souq Player of the Match: Muhammad Hassan

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