Sharjah: UAE opener Amjad Ali, who cracked a quick century to steer UBL to an emphatic 222-run victory over Power House in a Group D match of the Bukhatir League for Interface Cup, feels he owes his success to his recent World Cup experience.
Amjad cracked 115 runs off 112 deliveries with 13 boundaries to help UBL post a mammoth 331 runs in 50 overs. Rameez Shahzad chipped in with 43 runs and was involved in a 124-run partnership for the third wicket that crushed the Power House’s bowling attack. Speaking to Gulf News, Amjad explained: “After facing some of the world’s finest bowlers with the new ball as an opener in all the World Cup matches, my confidence to play any bowler has increased. Most of the bowlers in the World Cup were bowling around 150km/h and after facing them, I find myself having more time to play my shots.”
Amjad is determined to maintain the high scores.
“On returning from the World Cup, I hit two half-centuries in Abu Dhabi. I scored a 90 against Abu Dhabi Gymkhana and 80 against New Medical Centre in the Abu Dhabi 50-over league. I was determined to get a century and I am happy that I have done it in Sharjah and in the prestigious Bukhatir League,” added Amjad, who is also the captain of the UBL team.
Chasing the total, Power House slipped to 49 for four before Mohammad Kaif (42) and Mohammad Kamran (14) put on a 35-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Zaheer Maqsood and Rameez Shahzad, who picked up three wickets each, bowled out Power House for 109 runs.
In another match, UBL scored an eight-wicket win over the formidable Alubond Tigers. After restricting Alubond to 162 runs, despite World Cup hero Shaiman Anwar’s 45 runs, UBL won in 27.5 overs with Amjad hitting 39 runs — backed by Syed Maqsood with 43 runs and Rameez Shahzad remaining unbeaten at 41.
The most exciting match was Al Faraa Club’s one-wicket victory over Ibsons CC in a Group B match. Chasing an easy target of 145, Al Faraa openers put on 34 runs for the first wicket but soon began to lose wickets at quick intervals. They slipped to 90 for six wickets. With 55 more runs needed, Gulraiz Sadaf and Mohammad Ajmal put on 42 runs for the seventh wicket with Sadaf’s 49-ball 32 Ajmal’s unbeaten on 31 off 36 balls taking them home.
Fly Emirates recorded their second successive victory beating One Stop Tourism by 99 runs.
