Saqib's ton puts NMC in final

Abu Dhabi: Saqib Ali paved the way with a century for New Medical Centre to book their place in the Al Hamad Contracting Cup Division-1 final after a victory over the sponsor's team.

The UAE all-rounder stroked 121 for his team to post 275 for seven and Al Hamad Contracting in reply were bowled out for 245 with Manjula Guruge, the lanky opening bowler, taking four for 44 from 9.2 overs.

NMC,electing to take first lease of the wicket, lost opener Indika Sampath (1) at three. Niresh Fernando and Asim Ijaz added 55 for the second wicket before the latter departed, trapped in front by Zaheer Baig for 29.

Saqib joined Fernando to share a 105-run stand for the third wicket to lay the foundation for their team to post a challenging score on the board.

Saqib slammed 16 fours and a six in his 133-ball knock while Fernando's 66 from 85 deliveries contained seven hits to the fence.

Guruge struck twice to remove the Al Hamad openers Abdul Rahman (15) and Faizan Arif (10) to leave them at 33 for two but the rest of their batsmen kept them on course with useful contributions.

Azhar Gill, the two-drop batsman, played the anchor role with a well struck 64 from 88 balls and Mohammed Tariq hit a breezy 50 off 43. Qasim Butt chipped in with a useful 42 but the NMC bowlers pegged back the advantage after a double strike from Atif Ijaz.

Brief scores:

New Medical Centre: 275 for 7 in 50 overs (Saqib Ali 121, Niresh Fernando 66, Asim Ijaz 29, Fayyaz Ahmad 2-41) bt Al Hamad Contracting: 245 all out in 47.2 overs (Azhar Gill 64, Mohammad Tariq 50, Qasim Butt 42, Manjula Guruge 4-44, Atif Ijaz 2-35).