Dubai: Shindagha and Nad Al Sheba eked out narrow wins in low-scoring encounters in the League of Mammoths at the Sevens ground last weekend.
An unbeaten half-century by Javed Siddiqui helped Zabeel Mammoths get past the 99-run target set by Shindagha Mammoths.
Shindagha, electing to bat first, ran into early trouble with wickets falling at regular intervals and collapsed to 98 in 21 overs against some superb bowling from Vinay Tolani (3/16) and Prashant Shetty (2/22). Apart from A.K.S. Satish, who scored a run-a-ball unbeaten 36 with three fours and Ashish Bhandari, none of the other batsmen could hold their ground.
In reply, Zabeel lost their top three batsmen for 16 and it looked like a struggle until man of the match Javed guided team past the target with invaluable unbeaten 50 off 47 balls (4x4). Giving him company to see their team through was No. 8 batsman Prashant Shetty with an unbeaten 10. Navin Punjabi bowled well for Shindagha with three wickets but could not stop Zabeel from surpassing their modest total.
In the other match, Jumeirah Mammoths, put in to bat by Nad Al Sheba, posted 148 for nine in 25 overs. Ambey Parwatkar was their top-scorer with 29 as the other batsmen struggled against some accurate bowling from Abid Chaudhury (2/35), Salman Farooq (2/18) and Joshil Sukhani (2/18).
Nad Al Sheba got off to a smooth chase when Sujit Salian (21) and Nalin Khaitan (26) were at the crease, but a sudden collapse, triggered by Arun Kokila (2/35), Rajesh Thadani (2/17) and Shiva Pagarani (2/20), put them in a difficult spot.
However, No. 10 batsman and man of the match Gaurav Rajkumar dashed Jumeirah’s hopes with a swashbuckling 32 off just 15 balls (2x4, 2x6) and took the team home in the company of Salman Farooq (17) with two balls to spare.
Brief scores: Nad Al Sheba Mammoths beat Jumeirah Mammoths by 1 wicket. Jumeirah 148 for 9 in 25 overs (Ambey Parwatkar 29; Abid Chaudhury 2/35, Salman Farooq 2/18, Joshil Sukhani 2/18) NAS 149 for 9 in 24.4 overs (Gaurav Rajkumar 32, Nalin Khaitan 26; Arun Kokila 2/35, Rajesh Thadani 2/17, Shiva Pagarani 2/20). Man of the Match: Gaurav Rajkumar.
Shindagha Mammoths beat Zabeel Mammoths by 4 wickets. Shindagha 98 in 21 overs (A.K.S. Satish 36 n.o., Ashish Bhandari 23; Vinay Tolani 3/16, Prashant Shetty 2/22) Zabeel 101 for 6 in 17.4 overs (Javed Siddiqui 50 n.o.; Navin Punjabi 3/14). Man of the Match: Javed Siddiqui.
