Dubai CC and Sharjah CC have booked their places in Saturday night’s Emirates Cricket’s Inaugural ‘UAE Cricket Leagues’ Men’s T20 series final, following solid wins over Ajman CC and Abu Dhabi CC (respectively).
Ajman won the toss and elected to bat in Friday’s first match. Ajman never seemed to find their rhythm and despite a strong partnership by Waseem Rana and Faizan Asif, which added 66-runs (off 44-balls) to the scoreboard, they had to settle for 148-runs (for loss of 9 wickets) at the end of their innings.
Dubai openers Waqas Raja and Chirag Suri replied by smashing the Ajman bowlers around the park, recording a decent partnership of 87-runs (off 66-balls).
After the opening duo walked, Adnan Ijaz and Mohammad Qasim added another 44-runs aiding the side to comfortably pass the required number to win, carding 150-runs for loss of 2-wickets (18-overs).
In the second match of the day, both Abu Dhabi and Sharjah had their sights firmly set on a final’s berth.
After winning the toss and deciding to bat, Sharjah’s run rate was kept well under control by a quality Abu Dhabi side. Sharjah soon found themselves at 64-runs for loss of 5-wickets toward the end of the 11th over.
A quick-fire partnership between Shaiman Anwar and Syed Ubadah, of 45-runs from 21-balls, laid the foundation for their middle and lower middle order to amass 117-runs in the remaining overs, finishing with 179-runs (loss of 7 wickets).
Chasing a winning target of 180-runs, Abu Dhabi were subjected to a clinical performance by Sharjah’s bowlers, claiming wickets at regular intervals leading to the collapse of Abu Dhabi.
Despite a strong 31-runs (off 17-balls) which included 3-fours and 2-sixes by opener Fayyaz Ahmed, and a quick surge by Ashok Kumar, who added 38-runs (off 25-balls with 4 sixes), Sharjah restricted Abu Dhabi to 157-runs (for loss of 9-wickets) to comfortably securing their place in the Inaugural UAE Leagues T20 finals.
Tonight’s final between Dubai CC and Sharjah CC is expected to provide a scintillating display of cricket, and starts at 7pm at Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Entry to watch the final is free.
Bringing together the four Councils of Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai and Sharjah, the Men’s T20 series is the third series in the Inaugural UAE Cricket Leagues.
The Leagues will be played in the highly-popular formats of T20 and 50-over formats in boys, women’s and men’s categories, and will be played through a 28 match-schedule across the UAE.
