Emirates Bank outplays favoured Expats in cricket

Resurgent Emirates Bank Group outplayed fancied Expats Cricket Club by six wickets to ensure their berth in the knockout stage of the ongoing Catch Spring Water Gold Cup for the Ramadan floodlit cricket tournament 'A' Division.

Put into bat first, Expats were confronted with some good bowling. Arshad Khan was the wrecker-in-chief with figures of four for 20 and ruined the prospects of Expats, who slipped to 72 for seven.

Southpaw Mashood CTK (29) added 28 for the next wicket and 29 for the ninth wicket, before he fell. Number 10 Shahid Ali made unbeaten 24 to give Expats a fighting total of 146 for nine in the allotted 35 overs.

Chasing a tricky target, Emirates Bank Group started well as opener Sajid Latif (55, 86 balls, three fours and a six) and Babar Malik (31, 51 balls, three fours) gave their a solid foundation. Former Pakistan international Athar Laiq (22) also did his bit to further cement the victory.

In the Pass Pass Gold Cup for 'B' divisions, debutant Smart Cricket Club caused a major stir when they scraped past Jumeirah International by one wicket, scoring the winning run off the last ball.

Smart Cricket Club came from behind to win the see-saw battle that has not only kept their hopes alive but also left the group in an unusual situation. Whoever wins the last game, will qualify for the quarterfinals.

An impressive knock of 91 off only 48 balls with nine fours and four sixes by Lalit was chiefly responsible for his team's memorable victory.
At 154 for three Smart Cricket Club seemed to be in control, but Jumeirah International fought back and reduced their rivals to 189 for eight and a little later to 199 for nine.

However, the last pair of Rensi and Edgar kept their cool to bring about a famous victory. Bowling honours were shared by Milroy (three for 40) and Paul (two for 24) after Alex (two for 14) had prised open the top.

Earlier, Jumeirah International had made 203 in the allotted 30 overs. Middle order batsman Ashok (51, 42 balls with three fours) top-scored for Jumeirah.

Summarised scores:
Emirates Bank Group beat Expats Cricket Club by seven wickets. Expats 146 for nine in 35 overs (Mashood CTK 29, Arshad Khan four for 20) Emirates Bank Group 150 for four in 33.2 overs (Babar Malik 31, Sajid Latif 55). Man-of-the-match: Arshad Khan.

Smart Cricket Club beat Jumeirah International by one wicket. Jumeirah International 203 in 30 overs (Mihira 31, Ashok 51, Jeethu three for 26, Varma three for 19) Smart Cricket Club 207 for nine in 30 overs (Lalit 91, Milroy three for 40). Man-of-the-match: Lalit.