Dubai, Al Ain Global Distribution stormed into the quarter-finals of the 13th Dulsco Ramadan cricket tournament in style by handing a 10-wicket defeat to Cricket Lovers Club at the Zabeel Park Cricket Ground, Zabeel Park, on Wednesday night.
Global Distribution raced to the victory target in only nine overs after bowling out Cricket Lovers Club for 118 in 19.5 overs to earn their second successive win. Cricket Lovers Club, which was launched just ahead of the Dulsco tournament, would be disappointed with their ouster due to the second defeat in three games after making a bright start with a 85-run win over HSBC in their opener.
On a humid night, Cricket Lovers Club skipper Divyenoy Shekhar elected to bat first after winning the toss and his decision proved to be the wrong one when openers Shabbir (10) and Karthik Shekhar (11) were removed by Murtaza.
Murtaza’s accurate bowling fetched him another wicket with UAE under-19 player Shorye Chopra falling for a duck five runs later to push Cricket Lovers Club into a panic situation at 24 for three. Salman and Zohaib did manage to thwart the collapse for a brief while pushing the score to 56. However, they both departed, falling to a brilliant spell from Wahid.
Salman departed first after making 22 (4x1, 6x1) and 12 runs later, Zohaib (19, 6x2) followed to make it 68 for five. Wahid initiated another quick success for Global Distribution with the scalp of Tajammal (3) at 73.
Given Global Distribution’s poor start in their opening match, openers Yousuf Butt and Waqas played positively and looked to knock the total off quickly. Chasing a modest target, opener Yousuf Butt made up for his failure in the opening match and made Cricket Lovers Club bowlers pay with some sparkling display of shots as he closed the door firmly in their faces. He hammered seven sixes and three boundaries as runs came in torrent with Waqas also getting into the act.
In Al Ain, Bilal’s sterling allround performance helped GMS Star pull off a thrilling two-run win over NBH in the opening match of the inaugural Al Faraa Ramadan T20 tournament — being held under the agesis of the Al Ain Cricket Council at the Al Ain Sportsplex ground.
