Dubai: Naven Gorthi struck a majestic unbeaten 84 as Titans Cricket Club clinched a thrilling five-run win over Hadaf Sporting RAK to set up a semi-final with MGM Sharjah in the NAS T10 Cricket Tournament being held at the Wombats Cricket Ground in Jebel Ali.

Salman Cool Boys cruised to a seven-wicket win over Noor Bank and will now meet DHL in the semi-finals.

Opening the innings, Gorthi saw his partner Sheridan Hadfield depart without scoring and the number three, Veera Pandian did not last long either, scoring just one run.

Gorthi, however, found an able ally in, first, Arshad Sadiq (21 runs) and then Asghar Afridi (18) and those two partnerships, of 41 and 40 respectively, helped the Titans post a respectable 133 for 5. Gorthi’s 84 runs came off 33 balls and the innings was studded with 6 fours and 7 sixes.

Hadaf Sporting got off to a disastrous start in their chase with their openers M Surjith and K Noushad back in the pavilion without bothering the scorers, while No. 3 Midhun Sudhakar and No. 5 Ashok Kumar scored 3 and 2 respectively.

From four down for 28, Hadaf made a spirited rally with Akhil Das (33), Vishak Sasikumar (32), Manikanten Nair (31) and Godson Louie (20) requiring 35 from the last two overs. Tension prevailed as Hadaf scored 20 off the penultimate over, but Haider Ali remained calm and gave away only eight runs to seal a thrilling five-run win for the Titans.

Meanwhile, Fohood Zabeel will meet Dubai Police in the semi-final of the NAS Futsal Championship after drubbing Victory 11-2 to top Group A. Al Taher took the top spot in Group B following their 6-2 win over Tolerance in the final round of group matches on Monday night where they will next meet defending champions Saudi Driving School.

Dubai Police, who defeated Al Bahri 4-3 also booked their semi-final spot after finishing level on seven points with Al Taher. But the policemen had to occupy the second position in the group on an inferior goal difference.

RESULTS

Cricket

Titans Cricket Club bt Hadaf Sporting RAK by 5 runs

Salman Cool Boys bt Noor Bank by 7 wickets

Futsal

Group A: Fohood Zabeel bt Victory 11-2; Group B: Al Taher bt Tolerance 6-2; Dubai Police bt Al Bahri 4-3

Wheelchair Basketball

Third Place: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) bt Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services 68-53