Yasir Kaleem of Future Mattress and Abdul Ghaffar of Seven Districts carry their teams to the final of the 29th Bukhatir T20 League

By K.R. Nayar

Yasir Kaleem's timely unbeaten 43 for Future Mattress and Abdul Ghaffar's unbeaten half-century for Seven Districts propelled their teams to the final of the 29th Bukhatir T20 League. In the semifinal clashes held on Saturday at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Future Mattress secured a four-wicket victory, thanks to Yasir Kaleem's last-over heroics. He hit a six and a boundary and took a single off the last three deliveries, shattering Collaze Bake House's hopes of a victory. In the second semifinal, Abdul Ghaffar of Seven Districts smashed an unbeaten 51 and also claimed a wicket, leading his team to a resounding 91-run victory over CSS Group.

Yasir Kaleem's match-winning knock in Future Mattress' win

Future Mattress won the toss and elected to field. Collaze Bake House started by losing their valuable skipper Renjith Mani for six runs, clean bowled by Mati Khan. The opening partnership with Qamar Awan was 32 runs. One-drop Mazhar Hussain joined Qamar, and they put on 53 runs for the second wicket. Mazhar Hussain was dismissed by Muhammad Azhar for 25. One run later, Vishnu Sukumaran fell to Umair Ali for a duck.

Sapandeep Singh and Qamar then guided the total past the 100-run mark. At a score of 127, Sapandeep Singh was caught behind by wicketkeeper Yasir Kaleem off Uzair Khan for 26. The consistent Junaid Shamsu played another fine unbeaten knock of 33 off just 18 balls, including two boundaries and two sixes. He contributed to a 48-run partnership for the fifth wicket before Qamar Awan was dismissed by Uzair Khan for 82. Qamar's innings off 67 deliveries included seven boundaries and three sixes. In the end, Collaze Bake House posted an impressive 188 for 5 in 20 overs.

Refusing to crack under the immense pressure of chasing a big total, Future Mattress' opener Alishan Sharafu and Sandeep Singh added 66 runs in 5.5 overs. Harry Bharwal clean bowled Alishan Sharafu for 30. At the same score, Sandeep Singh was dismissed by Mazhar Hussain for 35. Dawood Ejaz and Uzair Khan maintained the run flow, taking the total past the 100-run mark.

At a score of 116, Dawood Ejaz fell to Renjith Mani for 26. Manpreet Singh clean bowled Uzair Khan for 31 at 137 runs in 15.4 overs. Future Mattress still needed 55 more runs to reach the target. Yasir Kaleem took up the challenge and smashed an unbeaten 43 off 23 balls, including three boundaries and three sixes. During the chase, Future Mattress lost Amjad Gul, run out for 8, and Umair Ali, also run out for 3. However, Yasir Kaleem guided the team to the target off the last ball. He hit a six off the fourth ball, followed by a boundary off the fifth delivery, and took a single off the last ball from Mazhar Hussain to secure a thrilling win.

Brief scores:
Future Mattress bt Colllaze Bake House by 4 wkts. Colllaze Bake House 188 for 5 in 20 overs (Qamar Awan 82, Mazhar Hussain 25, Sapandeep Singh 26, Junaid Shamsu 33n.o, Uzair Khan 2 for 47) Future Mattress 189 for 6 in 20 overs (Alishan Sharafu 30, Sandeep Singh 35, Dawood Ejaz 26, Uzair Khan 31, Yasir Kaleem 43n.o)
Player of the Match:  Yasir Kaleem 

Abdul Ghaffar’s match winning half century

In the second semifinal, Seven Districts won the toss and elected to bat. Opener Muhammad Kashif and Raees Ahmad put on 39 runs in 4.2 overs. Muhammad Kashif was dismissed for 15, trapped leg before by Zohaib. One-drop Atta Ur Rahim and Raees Ahmad added 65 runs for the second wicket. Nipun Babu ended Raees Ahmad's fine knock of 63 off just 36 balls, which included six boundaries and five sixes, at a score of 104. At the score of 119, Nipun Babu struck again to remove Atta Ur Rahim for 28.

Muhammad Saghir Khan, who scored 15 runs, was clean bowled by Ranjith Haridas at a score of 132. Seven Districts' total swelled when the consistent Abdul Ghaffar smashed a quick unbeaten 51 off 23 balls, with three boundaries and five sixes, partnering with Almaz Ayub. This pair took the score to 170 for 5 in 16.4 overs. Nabeel Arshad contributed an unbeaten 27 to ensure a huge total of 210 for 5 in 20 overs.

CSS Group needed a good start to reach the target but failed, losing wickets early. The first to go was their star batsman Zohaib, falling to Zeeshan Naseer for 7. Zeeshan Naseer also dismissed one-drop Fazal Oasis, caught behind by wicketkeeper Muhammad Kashif, for 1. Opener Abhiram Hrithwik, who kept the scoreboard moving with 20 runs, fell to Haider Ali. Vishnuraj was caught and bowled by Abdul Ghaffar for 3.

Half of the CSS Group's team was back in the dugout for 40 when Danish Sarhadi was trapped leg before by Wahab Hassan. Jeevan Gangadharan made a valiant effort to steady the innings and took the score to 91 but was dismissed by Muhammad Saghir Khan for 31. At a score of 117, skipper Ranjith Haridas also became another victim of Wahab Hassan, falling for four. Wahab Hassan also removed Hassan Ahmed, stumped by wicketkeeper Muhammad Kashif for a duck. Meanwhile, Nabeel Arshad dismissed Vimalnadh, who top-scored with 36 runs. Wahab Hussain claimed his fourth wicket by trapping Farzeen Ahmed leg before for a duck, and CSS Group was bowled out for 119 in 17.1 overs.

Brief scores:
Seven Districts bt CSS Group by 91 runs. Seven Districts 210 for 5 in 20 overs (Raees Ahmad 63, Atta Ur Rahim 28, Abdul Ghaffar 51n.o, Nabeel Arshad 27n.o, Nipun Babu 2 for 32) CSS Group 119 in 17.1 overs (Abhiram Hrithwik 20, Jeevan Gangadharan 31, Vimalnadh 36, Zeeshan Naseer 2 for 14, Wahab Hassan 4 for 17)
Player of the Match: Abdul Ghaffar