Noor and Balouch emerge T20 Bash match winners

Sharjah: The Sharjah T-20 Bash being held at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium saw a deadly match-winning spell from Mir Cricket Club’s Saifullah Noor and One Stop Tourism’s Khawar Balouch scoring an unbeaten 76.

Noor’s four-wicket haul helped Mir CC secure a comfortable seven-wicket victory against Defenders while Balouch’s knock extended One Stop Tourism’s winning run as they defeated UBL by five wickets. Meanwhile, UAE skipper Rohan Mustafa hit his third successive half-century for One Stop Tourism.

Defenders struggled against Noor who dismissed Sandeep Singh and Farrukh Kazmi for naught in two successive balls. Ashfaq Ahmed and Fahad Tariq steadied the innings with a 53-run partnership for the third wicket. Ashfaq Ahmad hit 29 with six boundaries while Fahad Tariq scored a 27-ball 32 runs with seven boundaries. Mohammad Taqeer chipped in with a 25-ball 41 runs to help Defenders post 150 runs in 20 overs.

Mir Club reached the target in 17.1 overs with opener Abdul Rehman scoring 46 runs off 33 deliveries with five fours and two sixes. Salman Randhawa (27), Abdullah Azhar (24) and, 1x4, Salman Babar (29n.o) were the other scorers.

In One Stop Tourism’s victory, Mustafa and Balouch put on 70 runs in just 6.3 overs. Mustafa hit 50 from 24 deliveries with six boundaries and three sixes. Balouch remained unbeaten on 76 runs from 54 balls consisting of seven boundaries and two sixes. Andri Bengeri chipped in with 33 runs.

Earlier, UBL were restricted to 192 for five mainly due to Muhammad Ikram who took three wickets for 18 runs. Raja Shakeel and Mohammad Boota’s half centuries went in vain.

Brief scores:

Mir CC bt Defenders CC by 7 wkts Defenders CC: 150 in 20 overs (Ashfaq Ahmed 29, Fahad Tariq 32, Muhammad Taqeer 41; Saifullah Noor 4 for 15, Salman Babar 2 for 40, Abdullah Azhar 2 for 20). Mir CC: 151 for 3 in 17.1 overs (Abdul Rehman 46, Salman Randhana 27, Abdullah Azhar 24n.o, Salman Babar 29n.o; Ashfaq Ahmed 2 for 23). Man of the match: Saifullah Noor.

One Stop Tourism bt UBL by 5 wkts. UBL: 192 for 5 in 20 overs (Amjad Ali 30, Raja Shakeel 50, Mohammad Boota 50, Babar Hussain 24; Muhammad Ikram 3 for 18). One Stop Tourism: 194 for 5 in 19.5 overs (Rohan Mustafa 50, Khawar Balouch 76n.o, Andri Bengeri 33; Mujahid Amin 3 for 39, Zaheer Maqsood 2 for 36). Man of the match: Khawar Balouch.