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Faris powers Yogi Group; Nucaf Tellicherry stun ECB Blues

SHARJAH — Salman Faris smashed a solid unbeaten 89 to guide Yogi Group to a convincing eight-wicket victory over William Hare Abu Dhabi Gymkhana in the 37th Bukhatir League ‘A’ Division Tournament, organised by the Sharjah Cricket Council, at the Sharjah stadium.

Faris struck four fours and two sixes in his 122-ball innings as Yogi Group overhauled the Abu Dhabi team’s competitive total of 215 for nine in 43 overs.

William Hare Abu Dhabi Gymkhana, batting first, built their innings around Zesshan Safeer who made a blazing 61 off 39 balls which included six fours and three sixes. Asim Khurshid also chipped in with a fine 40 off 69 balls. Mohammed Ajmal and Nasir Aziz shared five wickets to prevent the Abu Dhabi team from running away with the early initiative.

Spearheaded by a fine batting from Faris, Yogi Group planned and executed their reply effectively. Former Ranji Trophy player Swapnil Patil (45 off 55 balls) and Shaiman Butt (33 off 43) provided solidity to the innings before Mohammed Usman (33 not out off 32 balls) and Faris sealed the victory in style.

Nucaf Tellicherry, spearheaded by a solid century from Rameez Shahzad, pulled off a stunning one-wicket victory over a determined ECB Blues side in a high-scoring match on Sunday night.

Shahzad hammered 101 off 110 balls with 10 fours as Nucaf Tellicherry successfully chased a massive victory target of 304 with just one ball to spare.

ECB Blues, batting first after winning the toss, did extremely well post a healthy total of 303 for five in the allotted 50 overs. Amjad Ali led their batting change with a brilliant unbeaten innings of 158 off just 119 balls which included 13 fours and six sixes.

Zamin Jaleed (45 off 62 balls), Fahad Tariq (41 off 35 balls) and Ahmed Raza (33 off 43 balls) further consolidated the innings with some fine batting. Maqsood Ahmed took three wickets for 83 runs.

Unruffled by a huge task at hand, Nucaf Tellicherry planned and executed their reply in a professional manner, thanks to Shahzad who batted sensibly. Maqsood followed his three-wicket haul with a quick-fire 81 off 64 balls with nine fours and four sixes.

Useful contributions from Usman Khalid (27 off 51 balls) and Aditya Mayru (19 not out off nine ball) helped Nucaf Tellicherry see off the ECB Blues challenge in a thrilling finish. Shoaib Sarwar and Irfan Sajjad took three wickets each while Ahmed Raza picked up two for 66, but their efforts failed to stop Nucaf Tellicherry from registering a well-deserved victory.