Merryland Kings earned a thrilling last-ball victory over The Model School but it was not enough to seal a quarter-final place.
Both teams knew only a big-margin victory would keep their qualification hopes alive.
As it transpired, Abdullah Shahzad scored the winning run as Kings won by six wickets but exited the competition.
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With the scores tied at 83 in the 14th over, Shahzad held his nerve to get the required single and it was no surprise he was mobbed by his team-mates at the Nursery Ovals in Abu Dhabi.
Their fate depended on Bright Riders losing against Cranleigh in the latter game by a big margin, but Riders edged them on run-rate.
Kings team manager Shanmugasundaram Dhanamuthu praised his players’ efforts but was disappointed with the group stage exit.
“We played very well and it was a very tense finish but I’m proud of my players,” he said. “We showed our grit and each and every person showed their potential. It’s disappointing to go out but we’ll now go and practise hard so that we’re ready for the next season.”
They were set a target of 84 after a superb unbeaten 44 from Model’s Faheem Abdusalam’s with the number three batsman hitting six fours en route from 36 deliveries.
Kings got off to a strong start with an opening 46-run stand by Usman Mohammad (20) and Suresh Naraj (5). But spinner Shahid Azar had the final say with Kings losing both batsmen in consecutive overs.
Samit Chowddhury (7) and Moeez Mumtaz (10) piled on the runs and edged closer to their target after Model gave away a number of extras.
The pair departed in the last over and with one required to win, Shahzad held his nerve to open his account. However, it proved to be too little too late.
