Dubai: Shehzad Manna carried his fine form from the longer version of the game and Twenty20 matches into the one-day format by cracking an unbeaten 60 to give Danube Lions a winning start in the first Danube One-day series at the ICC Cricket Academy.

Manna was the star performer in the recent Danube two-day Test series and steered his team to victory. He had also won the award for hitting the highest number of sixes in the Kerala Premier League Twenty20 tournament with 14 sixes for Thrissur team.

Manna’s breezy knock helped Danube post an eight-wicket win over Al Faraa in the opening match of the One-day tournament. UAE opener Andri Berenger too chipped in with an unbeaten 41 and, with Manna in fine fettle, Danube raced past Al Faraa’s challenging total of 194 in only 39.5 overs. For Al Faraa, Ijaz Bashir and Babar Bashir hit 69 runs each but their effort went in vain.

In the second match, Grand Midwest Hotel trounced favorites Alubound Tigers by eight wickets.

Put in to bat by GMW, Alubound were bundled out for 81 runs in just 18.2 overs while the winners reached the target in just 13 overs.

In the ongoing Al Sadiq ASICS Inter-school tournament for under-10 boys, hosts Al Sadiq Islamic English School and Our Own Indian School recorded easy victories. Al Sadiq beat Ambassador School by 33 runs while Our Own Indian School beat JSS International School by 10 wickets. In another match, Our Own Indian School beat JSS International by 10 wickets while Delhi Private School recorded an identical victory over Kindergarten Starters. The organisers gave the children something else to look forward to by inviting UAE football star Adnan Hussain to mix freely with the players.

The Sharjah Cricket Council’s 24th Bukhatir League Twenty 20 tournament and eighth Al Dhaid tournament, meanwhile, produced some superb match-winning knocks. Shabbir Malek of One Stop Tourism cracked 112 to ensure his team an emphatic 162 runs victory over Unicon Cricket Club in the Al Dhaid tournament while in the Bukhatir league Ali Zeeshan and Sapandeep Singh cracked brilliant half centuries. Both hit 59 runs each to ensure a seven-wicket win for Multiplex over Cost Cutter.

In another match, Suhail Khan cracked an unbeaten 57 while Saqib Khan scored 51 runs to guide Al Badar to a five-wicket win over CBI Cricket Club.