Abu Dhabi: Multiplex ended their Ramadan campaign on a high as they made up for two final defeats by clinching the Ace-Pan Global Group Ramadan Twenty20 Cup title in Abu Dhabi.
Multiplex arrived at the Shaikh Zayed Cricket Stadium having finished as runners-up in Ramadan tournaments in Ajman and Dubai, but they didn’t let a third title slip away as they recorded a four-wicket triumph over Alubond Tigers.
The Multiplex bowlers, backed up by some excellent ground fielding, did well to restrict Alubond to 117 for seven. Their batsmen knocked off the winning runs with four balls to spare to walk away with the Dh30,000 winner’s cheque and their first title in the capital.
Multiplex openers Ali Zeeshan (30) and Sapandeep Singh (26) gave them a solid start by adding 49 in six overs. But, once that partnership was broken, they wobbled a bit before the seventh-wicket pair of Zeeshan Khan (25 not out) and Abdullah Haq (14 not out) took them over the line.
“The players got a bit nervous on the big stage when playing in the two previous finals, but held their nerves to execute the game-plan well tonight to win in Abu Dhabi,” said Irfan Ansari, the Multiplex coach.
“The bowlers did a great job by bowling in the right areas to restrict a strong batting line-up to a total our batsmen could chase. In the end, it was an excellent team effort with everyone chipping in with their contributions to win.”
Alubond, having elected to bat first, lost their top three batters for 24 in five overs before ex-Pakistan international Hassan Raza steadied their innings with a 48-ball 36, while the rest of the batting struggled.
New-ball bowler Zubair Khan took three for 29 from four overs, but it was first change Qadeer Ahmad who bowled best to return with excellent figures of 4-1-8-1. Abdullah Haq then bowled a tidy spell in the slog overs.
