Dubai: Car Fare Dubai XI held their nerves to seal a five-wicket victory over Golden Tower LLC and reach the semi-finals of the fifth Golden Tower Twenty20 League organised by the Umm Al Quwain Cricket Association.
The tournament was held under the supervision of the Emirates Cricket Board and played under the auspices of the Ajman Cricket Council and Domestic Cricket Development Committee.
In another quarter-final, Titans Cricket Club thrashed Liberty Automobiles LLC by 88 runs to enter the last four.
Electing to bat first, Car Fare Dubai XI posted 181 for eight in 20 overs.
Kalim Burhan spearheaded the batting with a quickfire 72 off 35 deliveries, including three boundaries and six sixes. Pramod Sitoke and Saeed scored identical 30s to ensure Car Fare had a huge total to defend.
For Golden Tower, Nisar Ahmad was the best bowler, claiming four wickets, while Waheed Ahmad and Amjad Gujjar bagged two each.
Chasing a stiff target, Golden Tower lost wickets early on thanks to some superb bowling from Iftiqar Ahmad and Mohammad Nabeel, who took three wickets each.
But Waheed Ahmad and Shehzad Ali put Golden Tower back on track, scoring heavily in the middle overs. Ahmad succumbed after scoring 31 from 28 balls, including a boundary and two sixes, but Ali continued to fight hard. He faced only 50 deliveries to score 82 with the help of 12 boundaries and a six and was helped by Adnan, who scored a 11-ball 21. But, despite their efforts, the Golden Tower fell short by five runs to finish at 176 for seven in 20 overs.
In the other match, chasing a massive 239 to win, Liberty Automobiles managed only 150 in 18.1 overs losing by a huge 88 runs to Titans Cricket Club.
Imran top-scored with a gritty 31, while Abid Mohammad (23), Saqib (29) and Liyaqat Ali (24) were the other contributors.
Earlier, batting first, Titans were inspired by brilliant half-centuries from Faizal, Irshad Bilal and Azhar Abdullah as they piled on a massive 238 for four in 20 overs.
Faizal just took 34 balls to smash six sixes and two boundaries to reach 75, while Bilal scored a 31-ball 54, including seven hits to the fence and one over it. Abdullah scored three fours and four sixes to score a superb 56 from 30 balls. Ashley did his best in the end to score a 21-ball 34.
