Dubai: Abdullah Khan and Mohammad Afzal recorded a mammoth 336-run opening wicket partnership in the Cricket for Care Under-15s Inter Academy tournament sponsored by Shyam Bhatia under the auspices of the Dubai Cricket Council at The Sevens ground.
Their unbeaten stand for Young Talents Cricket Academy (YTCA) ensured an emphatic 243-run victory over Youth Cricket Academy (YCA). Khan was at his aggressive best with 183 not out, while Afzal cracked an unbeaten 127.
Shehzad Altaf, head coach of the YTCA team, told Gulf News: “These two boys are among my very talented cricketers and it was splendid to find them in full flow. All that I advised them was not to throw away their wicket and bat the full 25 overs.”
Khan’s 183 came off just 78 balls with 23 boundaries, while Afzal’s 127 came off 67 balls, with 64 coming from boundary hits.
“Khan had won the player of the tournament award in the Sharjah Cricket Council’s inter-school tournament and Afzal was Maxtalent’s inter-school tournament man of the tournament winner. Both are always eager to play their strokes and they used this opportunity very well,” added Altaf, who has overseen their progress from a very young age.
Khan is a student of Sheffield School and Afzal is from Our Own English High School.
Shattered by the big hitting of the YTCA openers, YCA surrendered meekly. Except for Zainul Abideen (36) and Mujahid Islam (21), their batsmen struggled as Mahdi Raza and Fahad Nawaz bagged two wickets each. YCA were bowled out for 93 in 23.2 overs.
In another match, Desert Cubs Cricket Academy downed Maxway by 25 runs. Riding on Ashley Lobo’s 54 and Irtiza Ali’s 40, Deserts Cubs posted 167 before restricting Maxway to 143 for five despite Keith Pinto’s fighting 64.
