Abu Dhabi: Ghulam Sabir hit 62 not out and shared a century stand for the third wicket with former Pakistan international Hasan Raza to steer Alubond Tigers to a eight-wicket victory over Ibsons and seal a spot in the semi-finals in the UBL Twenty20 Cup presented by Abu Dhabi Tyre Company. Alubond lost their openers Shahid Siddique (6) and the UAE international Rohan Mustafa (4) cheaply, but the third wicket pair took charge to see them through with almost four overs to spare.
Sharif Asad and Sultan Ahmed, the new ball bowlers, did most of the damage by claiming five wickets between them to restrict Ibsons to 128 for nine after they were put in to bat first under lights at the Zayed Stadium.
Joining them in the last four were Danube Lions, Interface Transworld and United Bank Limited. Half centuries from Adnan Mufti and UAE international Mohammed Shahzad paved the way for Danube’s convincing 66-run win over New Medical Centre.
Farhan Babar stroked an unbeaten 61 to guide Interface to a six-wicket win with nine balls to spare over Abu Dhabi Airport Company, and UBL were given a fright by Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank before pulling off victory by 10 runs.
Dawood Ijaz hit a breezy 64 and took two wickets while Zaheer Maqsood bagged four for 24 to star for UBL.
