Belhasa ride Qadri show to victory

In-form Mukhtar Qadri produced a fine all-round performance to lead Belhasa Driving Centre to a 36-run victory over the young ECB Blues side in the 18th Sharjah Ramadan Twenty20 floodlit cricket tournament for the CSS Homeward Bound Cup.

In another match, Vivek Regi snapped up four wickets for 13 runs as Players Enval defeated Dolphin CC by 35 runs.

The tournament, organised by the Sharjah Cricket Council and supported by AJ Sports and Gillette Blue II Excel, is being played at the Sharjah stadium.

All-rounder Qadri first hammered a fluent 34 and then took three wickets for 22 runs to dominate the match against ECB Blues, a side which comprised inexperienced but talented players.

Belhasa, batting first, knocked up a challenging 143 for eight with Mukhtar hitting 34 off 30 balls with two fours and two sixes. Amir Raja (26 off 27 balls with one four and two sixes) and Shafqat (22 off 24 balls with two fours and one six) were the other main scorers.

Owais bowled well for ECB Blues, taking three wickets for 26 runs.

ECB Blues, in reply, were bowled out for 107 in 19.2 overs with Nadeem (three for 22) and Mukhtar (three for 28) doing most of the damage.

Afzal also took two wickets to hasten the end of the ECB Blues' innings.

Rashid top-scored for ECB Blues, hitting 39 off 34 balls with three fours while Arif (29 off 34 balls with four fours) and Shoaib (17 off 18 balls) made some useful runs, but they were not enough to threaten the Belhasa attack.

In the other match, Players Enval CC did well to score 134 for nine. They built their innings around Irfan (32 off 21 balls with four fours and one six), Raja (22 off as many balls with one six) and Gulam (19 off 21 balls with one four and one six).

Sajjad and Amjad took two wickets each, conceding 20 and nine runs respectively.

Dolphin CC, in reply, were shot out for 99. K. Usman batted well, slamming 33 off 32 balls with two fours while others failed to build big innings in the face of the Players Enval attack, spearheaded by Vivek Regi, who took four wickets for 13 runs.

Ali (two for 25) and Raja (two for 15) were also among the wicket-takers.

Brief scores

Players Enval CC beat Dolphin CC by 35 runs:
Players Enval: 134 for nine (Irfan 32, Raja 22, Gulam 19; Sajjad 2-20, Amjad 2-9). Dolphin: 99 all out in 18 overs (Usman 33; Vivek Regi 4-13, Ali 2-25, Raja 2-15).
Man of the Match: Vivek Regi.

Belhasa Driving Centre beat ECB Blues by 36 runs:
Belhasa: 143 for eight (Mukhtar 34, Amir Raja 26; Owais 3-26).
ECB Blues: 107 all out in 19.2 overs (Rashid 39, Arif 29; Nadeem 3-22, Mukhtar 3-28, Afzal 2-19).
Man of the Match: Mukhtar Qadri.