Ashfaq Ahmed dished out a breathtaking display of batsmanship and powered Wings Cricket Club to a massive 305-run victory over Adyard Club in an Al-Aqili Ramadan Trophy match at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
Ahmed blasted 206 runs of just 71 balls smashing 21 fours and 16 sixes. It was the highest score recorded by a batsman in a Twenty20 tournament conducted by the Abu Dhabi Cricket Council.
The Wings opener was not the only batsman carting the Adyard bowlers all over the park and No3 batsman Sajad Ali was equally ruthless striking 12 fours and 11 sixes in his 35-ball 120.
Together they raised 223 runs for the third wicket. The duo’s powerplay resulted in Wings soaring to 357-2 in their 20 overs, which was also the highest recorded in the tournament.
The Adyard bowlers’ only mom-ent of delight was when they dismissed Wings captain and opener Neeraj Ramamoorthy (4) with 26 runs on the board.
In reply, Adyard failed to put up a fight and could only muster 87-9 in 20 overs. Only three batsmen entered double figures with Anand Babu (28) emerging as the top scorer.
Abdul Haq (1-2) and Zahoor Farooqi (1-7) who opened the att-ack, dealt the initial blows before Adnan (2-10) and Waseem Ashraf (2-12) joined in to restrict the rivals.
Meanwhile, 7 Seas overcame a scare to defeat William Hare Abu Dhabi Gymkhana by three wickets. Put into bat, WHAD rode on middle-order batsman Ghulam Farid’s 48-ball 55 which included six fours and a six to raise 147-9 in 20 overs.
In reply, openers Gulam Shabir (51 off 51 balls) and Waqas Ahmed (34 off 29 balls) put the side on course with a 64-run stand. But Tariq Khan triggered a collapse by claiming four wickets in his 2.3 overs. No9 Hazrat Hussain (10 not out), however, withstood the rivals’ charge and hit the winning runs for 7 Seas in the final over.
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