Nail-biting thriller in Ajman T20 Cup

Maratha Arabians—Brothers Gas recorded a nail-biting one-run win over Deccan Gladiators—MGM in the 10th match of the Ajman T20 Cup at the Malek Stadium on Friday night.

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Chasing Maratha Arabians—Brothers Gas’ total of 145 for 5, Deccan Gladiators—MGM were restricted to 144 for 5 despite Hameed Khan’s breezy 71 runs off 43 balls and skipper Adeel Malik’s unbeaten 21 off just 10 balls that almost pulled his team to victory.

The hero of the match was Omer Farooq, who not only held his nerves and bowled the last over, but also took three wickets for 38 runs. Omar had also chipped in with an unbeaten 18 runs.

The edge of seat thriller began with Deccan Gladiators–MGM winning the toss and electing to bowl. Maratha Arabians – Brothers Gas opener and captain Jiju Janardhanan drove the first delivery of the match from Danish Qureshi through the covers for a boundary, and then the fourth ball through mid-wicket for another boundary. Saifullah Noor bowled a tight second over to opener Usman Khan. But Jiju continued to score freely and picked two more boundaries off Qureshi in the third over. In the fourth over, Qureshi struck by forcing Jiju to pull into the hands of Rahul Chopra for 28. His knock off 23 balls had six boundaries.

Usman Khan too followed quickly in the sixth over, caught by Adeel Malik at mid-on off left-arm spinner Ahmad Shafiq for 4. With both wickets falling at the score of 33, Tanveer Junaid and Mohammad Afzal began to repair the damage. Afzal hit Shafiq for a six over mid-wicket, but at his score on 11, Adeel Malik had him caught by Hassan Khan at deep mid-wicket.

Shahnawaz Khan joined Tanveer Junaid, and at the halfway mark Maratha Arabians – Brothers Gas were 59 for 3. They tried their best to accelerate the run flow against the tight Deccan Gladiators–MGM bowling. This pair took the score to 91 when Shahnawaz Khan swept Ahmad Shafiq into the hands of Mohammad Kaleem for 14.

Tanveer Junaid tried to pick the gaps and even hit Malik for a six over mid-wicket to take the team past the 100-run mark in the 16th over. Zeeshan Abid provided good support to Tanveer who looked set to reach his half century. Unfortunately, at his score of 47, he lifted Saifullah Noor to wide long-on for Adeel Malik to take a running catch.

With the score reading 117 for 5 and two more overs to go, Zeeshan Abid (16n.o) and Omer Farooq (18n.o) took the score to 145 for 5 in 20 overs.

Chasing the score, Hameed Khan and Mayank Chaudhry gave Deccan Gladiators–MGM a breezy start. Hammed Khan hit Hazrat Bilal’s first two and last two deliveries of the second over for boundaries. He also hit Omer Farooq for a six and a boundary in the third over. In the fourth over, Mayank Chaudhry steered Saqib Manshad into the hands of Harry Bharwal for 2. The pair had put on 40 runs in 3.5 overs.

Mohammad Kaleem then joined Hameed Khan who was in full flow. Hameed Khan reached his half century in 26 deliveries. So dominant was his batting that he had scored 50 out the team’s total of 60 runs. Mohammad Kaleem played intelligently and kept giving Hameed the strike. Though skipper Jiju Jandardhanan bowled a tight eighth over giving away just three runs, Hameed hit Harry Bharwal for a huge six in the ninth over.

At the halfway mark, Deccan Gladiators–MGM were 83 for 1 needing 63 more runs to win the match. Hameed’s brilliant knock came to an end in the 11th over when Omer Farooq clean bowled him for 71. His knock came off 43 balls with 11 boundaries and three sixes.

Waqas Ali joined Mohammad Kaleem and Jiju bowled another tight 12th over giving away just six runs. Hazrat Bilal struck with the first ball of the 13th over by having Waqas Ali caught behind by wicketkeeper Zeeshan Abid for 5. Jiju’s 14th over was even better where he gave away just three runs. Rahul Chopra tried his best to pick the gaps with 39 runs needed off the last five overs. Harry Bharwal and Saqib Manshad gave away just five runs each from the next two overs. When 26 runs were needed in the last 14 balls, Omer Farooq clean bowled Mohammad Kaleem for 23. He also clean bowled next man Ansar Khan with the very next delivery.

Skipper Adeel Malik walked in when 25 runs were needed in the last two overs. Hazrat Bilal bowled a brilliant 19th over giving away just six runs. With 19 runs needed off the last over, Adeel Malik hit the second and fifth deliveries from Omer Farooq for sixes. However, they managed to get only two runs off the last ball and lost the match by one run. Adeel Malik remained unbeaten on 21 off 10 balls with one boundary and two sixes. Rahul Chopra remained unconquered on 15 off 20 balls with one boundary.

Sharma the hero for Ajman Heroes

Late on Thursday night, Keshav Sharma emerges hero of Ajman Heroes’ first win. The leftarm spinner’s four-wicket spell restricted Northern Warriors—Defenders to 127 and they then recorded a seven-wicket win.

“In the team meeting, we had decided to bowl a good line and length. This being a big ground, we knew that if one can bowl stump to stump, it is possible to get wickets,” Sharma said.

Brief scores:

Maratha Arabians – Brothers Gas bt Deccan Gladiators – MGM by one run.

Maratha Arabians – Brothers Gas 145 for 5 in 20 overs (Jiju Janardhanan 28, Tanveer Junaid 47, Ahmad Shafiq 2 for 23) Deccan Gladiators – MGM 144 for 5 in 20 overs (Hameed Khan 71, Mohammad Kaleem 23, Adeel Malik 21n.o, Omer Farooq 3 for 38)

Man of the Match: Omer Farooq.

Ajman Heroes bt Northern Warriors –Defenders by 7 wkts.

Northern Warriors 127 in 19.1 overs (Haider Ali 31, Nasir Aziz 2 for 27, Keshav Sharma 4 for 16, Faisal Baig 2 for 18) Ajman Heroes 128 for 3 in 13.1 overs (Adnan Ul Mulk 33, Adnaan Khan 23, Khalid Shah 26, Dawood Ejaz 23n.o)

Man of the Match: Keshav Sharma