Shehzad steals the show in Ramadan Cup

Sharjah: Khurram Shehzad of Al Hamad Contracting hogged the limelight in the semifinal of the Sharjah Ramadan Rufi Cup Twenty20 tournament with a sparkling unbeaten century to stop Lloyds Bank by 10 wickets.

Al Hamad lived up to their reputation of being the defending champions of this tournament through a powerful batting display that made a challenging target of 140 for nine look so easy.

Shehzad thrashed the Lloyds Bank attack to remain unbeaten on 103 off just 44 balls studded with 11 sixers and six boundaries. So dominant was Shehzad's batting that his partner Usman Siddique could muster only an unbeaten 35. Al Hamad reached the target in just 13 overs.

One-sided contest

None expected the semifinal to be a one-sided affair after Lloyds Bank openers Prasanth Braggs and Prajakth Chauhan began on a positive note. They put on 33 runs and in the first five overs scored 48 runs.

Usman Siddique had Braggs out for 16 and Mobashir Ali clean bowled Chauhan for 34.

Sunil Kanojia and Vikrant Shetty steadied the innings with 31 runs each, but Shehzad Ahmad and Sajjad put the breaks on Lloyds Bank innings with frequent strikes.

Sajjad took three wickets for 21 with support from Siddique and Ahmad, who took two wickets each.

UAE's left-arm spinner Shadeep Silva dominated the second semifinal between New Medical Centre (NMC) and Ibsons. He produced a spell of three wickets for just seven runs from his four overs to bowl out Ibsons for just 94 runs.

Only Baber Malek withstood the tight NMC bowling to hit a fighting 32. Unfortunately, he was run out when he was starting to take control after hitting one six and four boundaries.

Strong fight-back

Ibsons fought back through Samiullah, who clean bowled Indika Sampath for 2 and Masood Hamid, who trapped one-down Atif Ijaz for 9.

Fayaz Ahmad too tried his best by trapping former UAE skipper Saqib Ali leg before for 16 and having Nalin Tanuvera caught for 1.

Sandeep Shetty and Dhanjay Fernando added 28 runs without being unconquered to ensure a five-wicket victory.

Summarised scores

Al Hamad Contracting bt Lloyds Bank by ten wickets. Lloyds Bank 140 for 9 (Prajakth Chauhan 35, Sunil Kanojia 31, Vikrant Shetty 31, Usman Siddique 2 for 21, Shehzad Ahmad 2 for 17, Sajjad 3 for 21) Al Hamad Contracting 146 for no loss in 13 overs (Khurram Shehzad 103 not out, Usman Siddique 35 not out).

Man of the match: Khurram Shehzad.

NMC bt Ibsons by five wickets. Ibsons 94 in 20 overs (Baber Malek 32, Shadeep Silva 3 for 7, Manjula 2 for 13) NMC 98 for 5 (Fayaz Ahmad 2 for 17, Masood Hamid 2 for 17). Man of the match: Shadeep Silva.