Sharjah: Alubond Tigers emerged as the winners of the One Stop Tourism 43rd Bukhatir Premier League through an impressive five wicket win over United Bank Limited (UBL) at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
UBL posted a challenging 242 in 49.3 overs but that total wasn’t enough to stop Alubond, which had one of the finest batting line ups in the tournament. In the semi-final, Alubond had displayed their batting might by chasing Multiplex International’s total of 358 for eight and won by seven wickets.
Speaking to Gulf News, Nasir Aziz, the skipper of the Alubond team, said: “After our historic chase in the final we were so confident of reaching any target in the final. Many times we had lost in the quarter-finals of this tournament and for the first time we have won the Bukhatir League and hence it is special. Our team strength and combination was excellent. We are also in the final of the Al Dhaid Cup and meet UBL again and if we can win that too then it will be a double delight.”
Nazir had led from the front taking three wickets with his off-spin to restrict UBL to 242. He inspired Asif Mumtaz, another off-spinner who went on to take five wickets for 32 runs. Muhammad Shakir’s 61 runs and Zawar Fareed’s 44 runs for UBL went in vain.
Chasing the total, Faizan Asif was at his best through a fine knock of 94 runs backed by Abdul Shakoor Sher with 62 runs off 61 balls with nine boundaries.
Once again it was the consistent CP Rizwan, who had cracked an unbeaten 85 in the semi-final to steer the team to the target, who ensured Alubond reached the target in 39.3 overs through an unbeaten 39 runs. Rizwan’s knock came off 48 balls while Amjad Gul chipped in with 21 runs from 18 balls.
Faizan was unlucky to miss a century but his 94 off 71 balls contained eight boundaries and seven sixes.
Bukhatir League thus completed its 43rd edition with 21 centuries, which was the highest ever in the tournament. A total of 63 half centuries were also scored.
Brief scores: Alubond Tigers bt UBL by 5 wickets. UBL: 242 all out in 49.3 overs (Zawar Fareed 44, Muhammed Shakir 61, Usman Saeed 26, Saqlain Haider 36, Mohammad Boota 21, Mujahid Amin 24n.o; Asif Mumtaz 5 for 32, Nasir Aziz 3 for 39). Alubond Tigers: 246 for 5 in 39.3 overs (Faizan Asif 94, Abdul Shakoor Sher 62, CP Rizwan 39n.o, Amjad Gul 21). Man of the match: Asif Mumtaz.
Individual awards:
Best Batsman: Saleem A Raheem (Multiplex) 302 runs
Best Bowler: Zaheer Maqsood (UBL) 21 wkts
Player of the tournament: Fayyaz Ahmed (Alubond Tigers) 259 runs and 6 wkts
