Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Gymkhana clinched a four-wicket thriller with three balls to spare to send Royal Gymkhana packing from the last four stage in the Farlin Ramadan Twenty20 Cup.

Faisal Butt, the opener, played the anchor role for a well-compiled 60 from 57 deliveries but it was Awais Aftab (14 off 6 balls) and Ghulam Farid (7 off 3) who took them over the line in the last of the four quarter-final games at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.

Royal Gymkhana, put into bat first, lost two early wickets for 26 but opener Fahad Tariq, dropped from the UAE national team for the tour of Scotland, held the innings together with a flamboyant 67.

He smashed eight fours and a couple of sixes in his 47-ball stay at the crease, and also shared a valuable 83-run stand for the third wicket with Jamil Aslam, who made 30 from 27 balls.

Abu Dhabi Gymkhana motored on in the second half of their innings from 67 for two in 10 overs. They were helped by some wayward bowling of Royal Gymkhana, conceding 15 wides.

United Bank Limited had a comparatively easier passage after restricting New Super Stars to 109 for nine in the preceding game.

Zaheer Maqsood did most of the damage by returning with four for 20 from four overs as UBL knocked off the winning runs for the loss of five wickets and more than six overs to spare.

In another quarter-final encounter, Hafiz Kaleem stroked a breezy 64 for Old School Boys to clinch a 16-run win over Eleven Strikers and a passage to the semi-finals.

Kaleem’s 47-ball effort was highlighted by half-a-dozen boundaries and four sixes, and set the platform for his team with a 95-run opening wicket stand with Mohammad Ibtisham who chipped in with 24 off 27 balls.

Eleven Strikers lost three early wickets for 34 but recovered through a 48-run partnership between Umar Khan (30) and Sohail Chatha (28), and with some contributions from the lower order kept the game alive until the last two overs of their innings.

Alubond Tigers were too good against New Medical Centre (NMC) in the second quarter-final, emerging winners by 121 runs.

Taking first lease of the wicket they posted 175 for six, courtesy of a 70-run partnership for the fifth wicket between Umair Ali and Rynku Kumar.

Ali smashed 62 not out from 32 deliveries, studded with five sixes and three fours, and Kumar’s 27-ball 45 at contained half-a-dozen boundaries. Alubond lost both openers at 23, the third wicket at 38 and the fourth at 82.

NMC, in reply, were left struggling at 17 for four with Sultan Ahmad and Amjad Javed claiming two wickets apiece before the spinners Ahmad Raza and Nasir Aziz snapped up the remaining six wickets to bowl out the opposition for 54.

Brief scores: Abu Dhabi Gymkhana beat Royal Gymkhana by four wickets. Royal Gymkhana 159 for 8 in 20 overs (Fahad Tariq 67, Jamil Aslam 30, Adeel Raja 4-30) Abu Dhabi Gymkhana 160 for 6 in 19.3 overs (Faisal Butt 60, Rizwan Amanat 29).

United Bank Limited beat New Super Stars by five wickets. New Super Stars 107 for 9 in 20 overs (Adnan Mufti 41, Darshana Mahesh 26, Zaheer Maqsood 4-20) UBL 110 for 5 in 13.4 overs (Syed Maqsood 33, Usman Saeed 45 not out).

Old School Boys beat Eleven Strikers by 26 runs. Old School Boys 167 for 6 in 20 overs (Hafiz Kaleem 64, Sohail Chatha 3-24, Feroz Khan 3-30) Eleven Strikers 151 for 8 in 20 overs (Umar Khan 30, Sohail Chatha 28, Salam Babar 2-25, Mohammad Adnan 2-23).

Alubond Tigers beat New Medical Centre by 121 runs. Alubond Tigers 175 for 6 in 20 overs (Umair Ali 62 not out, Rynku Kumar 45, Hassan Sultan 3-31) NMC 54 all out in 12.2 overs (Rizwan Majid 28, Ahmad Raza 3-13, Nasir Aziz 3-15, Sultan Ahmad 2-11, Amjad Javed 2-11).