Carfare hammer Friends at Dulsco Ramadan Cricket

Carfare batsmen hit form as they posted 180-7 in the allotted 20 overs and then bowled out Friends XI for 88.

Carfare registered a 92-run victory against Friends XI. — Supplied photo

Dubai — Strong contenders and last year’s runners-up Carfare got off to a good start as they registered a 92-run victory against Friends XI in the third match of the 14th Dulsco Ramadan Cricket tournament at the Zabeel Park Cricket Ground, Zabeel Park, Dubai, on Sunday night. 

Carfare batsmen hit form as they posted 180-7 in the allotted 20 overs and then bowled out Friends XI for 88.

Nothing clicked for Friends XI apart from the toss which they won. Their decision to put Carfare into bat was proved wrong by the rival openers as they got into the groove right from the first ball. Safdar Naazi and Zeeshan  Farooque struck the ball confidently as the runs came at a good pace. However, Safdar tried to be more flashy and was stumped off Firoz for 15. Abid Ali, who came in next, failed to last long as he was dismissed by Sikandar after looking in good touch for his nine-ball 10, which included a six.

Zeeshan also was back in the pavilion after blasting an entertaining 45, which came of 30 balls and contained two hits to the fence and three over it. Carfare looked in a spot of bother at 79-3 after Zeeshan’s exit.

However, that set the tone for wicket-keeper batsman Shoreya Chopra’s arrival as he picked up the baton in admirable style, scoring runs at will.

Shoreye played a lone hand in the latter part of the innings, smashing six fours and one sixes for his 55, which came off 36 balls, helping his team inch towards a commanding total.

He was well supported by Pramod Shitoke, hitting 16 off 13 balls with the help of a four and six. The duo ensured Carfare had posted 180-7.  Sohail and Ahmed Firoz bagged two wickets each.

After the batsmen had done their part, Carfare bowlers got into the act swiftly. After Zahoor had accounted for Naseer Hyaat (7), Mohammed Nabeel and Saeed Ahmed broke the back of Friends XI’s batting as they shared four wickets. Nabeel scalped Nooruddin Sheikh (2) and Haider Mohammad (1) to make it 15-3.

That was followed by Ahmed’s dismissals of Marcos Anthony (0) and Qaisar Hyaat, who looked threatening in his 18-ball 17 after getting a boundary and six.

Sohail Mohammad did try to take matters in his hand, hitting two fours and two sixes for his 32 off 29 balls. His heroics did not matter much as more was to come from Carfare. After having shown his skills with the bat, Zeeshan followed it up with the ball as he grabbed four wickets to completely outclass the Friends XI batsmen. He was later named the Multiplex man of the match for his brilliant all-round performance.