Wings soar into UBL Twenty20 Cup final

Abu Dhabi: UAE captain Khurram Khan slammed a breezy half century to lead Wings to a resounding 92-run over over William Hare Abu Dhabi Gymkhana and into the UBL Twenty20 Cup final. Wings meet Nissan Al Masaood, who clinched an eight-run thriller over Ibsons in the other semi-final.

Khan hit 68 off 38 deliveries for his for team to post 163 for seven and bowled a tidy four overs to return with one for 13 to dismiss Gymkhana for 71 at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.

Wings got off to a jittery start with opener Razik Khan (0) being run out but Ishtiaq Ghori hit a quick-fire 33 off 18 before Khurram joined his UAE teammate Shaiman Anwar (21 off 29) to lay the platform with a 55-run partnership for the third wicket.

Khurram hit 10 fours and a six while Anwar, who is known for his big-hitting, played the supporting role in building a partnership.

Gymkhana were left tottering at 16 for four in their chase after Wings’ opening bowler Gopa Kumar grabbed three wickets in three overs. Gymkhana never recovered from the setback.

In the other semi-final, Ibsons elected to field after winning the toss and their ploy seemed to have worked when they restricted the automobile dealers to 109 for seven with Fayyaz Ahmad and Abdul Rahman Qadri taking five wickets between them.

However, Ibsons lost both openers Ebrahim Malek (0) and Faizan Asif (1) with the score on six, and one-drop Babar Malek (15) at 19.

They were still in the hunt although half their batters were back in the pavilion with the score on 52 in the 11th over, but Al Masaood’s bowlers backed by some excellent work by the fielders in the outfield, prevailed in a tight finish.

Rohan Mustafa, the 24-year-old UAE all-rounder, and Arshad Iqbal were the pick of their bowlers for Al Masaood, bowling their four overs to return with two for 12 and two for 15 respectively.