The Gold section of the Challengers Cup at Dubai’s ICC Academy is all set for a grandstand finish in the pool stage after Oxford Marine overcame the Knight Riders.
The 26-run victory for Marine means that all three sides – SFS is the other – have identical records of one win and a loss from their first two matches.
With only two teams qualifying for the Grand Final, the three teams will clash against each other in the last round of the pool stage to determine who will advance.
The match format consists of players batting in pairs for three overs each, while five runs are deducted from the team total every time a wicket falls.
Oxford Marine’s win against the Knight Riders was a success founded on disciplined bowling and fielding with their opponents restricted to a modest score of 50.
The Marines then responded with 76, losing just two wickets in the process. That total included 17 – the match’s top score – from player of the match Badi Uzama, who also claimed one wicket.
In the Silver section, ENOC-2 recorded their second successive win at the expense of the Pakistani Tigers, who were beaten by just a single run.
ENOC-2 lost five wickets in posting a score of 61 but although the total appeared achievable, a disastrous second set of three overs, in which the Tigers lost four wickets, cost them the game.
ENOC-2’s Yunos was named player of the match for a terrific allround display of 11 runs and three wickets.
While the victory sets his side up nicely for the last eight, the Pakistani Tigers, with one win from their three matches, will now have to rely on other results if they want to join them there.
