Abu Dhabi - Emirates Voice
Sharjah Cricket Stadium has been witnessing quite a few records tumble in the recent past. Another one was created on Monday night when One Stop Tourism plundered a massive 306 to enter the semifinal of the 29th Ramadan Rathath MF Cup.
In the quarterfinal, Fahad Ansari slammed a quickfire century as One Stop Tourism powered to 306 which is the highest Twenty20 total ever scored at the historic venue. The previous best was 273.
Mir's decision to bowl first backfired as One Stop Tourism's openers Fahad Ansari and Rohan Mustafa made powerful starts blasting a terrific 105 in just 7.1 overs. Rohan Mustafa fell scoring a 23-ball 30 including three boundaries and two sixes.
Hafiz Kaleem who joined Ansari shared a 52-run stand in which he was the major contributor. He cracked six sixes during his 13-ball stay to accomplish 40.
Fahad Ansari meanwhile achieved a 40-ball hundred before he perished scoring 118 coming off 47 balls peppered with seven hits to the fence and a dozen over it. Umair Ali and Muhammad Usman came up with a late association that fetched 60 runs for the fifth wicket as One Stop Tourism amassed 306 for six in 20 overs.
Umair Ali was out after scoring a fine 19-ball 49 comprising of three boundaries and five sixes, while Muhammad Usman remained unbeaten on 35 from only 12 deliveries including a four and four sixes.
Chasing an improbable target, the pressure on Mir showed from the start as they lost four quick wickets. Bilal Irshad (35) and Abdullah Afzal (23) put up some resistance before Mir were all out for 117 in 14 overs.
For One Stop Tourism, all the bowlers excelled. While Ali Afzal and Rohan Mustafa snapped three wickets each, Taswar Ali Jammu and Shoaib Laghari claimed two each.
In the other match, Multiplex International eased past United Bank Limited to win by six wickets to enter the semifinals.
Chasing 162 to win, opener Balwinder Singh scored a brilliant 48-ball 93 not out studded with seven boundaries and six sixes. He also shared an unbroken 102-run stand with Abdul Shakoor (44 not out) for the fourth wicket as Multiplex International achieved the target in 19 overs.
Earlier batting first, UBL achieved 161 for eight in 20 overs. Usman Saeed top scored with a 42-ball 51 containing three fours and a six. Saqlain Haider (36) and Zaheer Ahmed (23) were the other significant contributors as UBL achieved 161 for eight in 20 overs.
Source: Khaleej Times