Al Wahabi champions of DCC Cup

BY : A STAFF REPORTER.
Spinner Ashwin Mistry played the match winning role with a superb spell of leg spin bowling as Al Wahabi Bhatia’s did themselves proud when they won the DCC Invitation Cup by beating Farooq Restaurant-Unity CC by 47 runs in the tournament conducted by Dubai Cricket Council.

Farooq Restaurant won the toss and put Al Wahabi in to bat and struck immediate success sending star batsman Jairaj Thakur back to the pavilion caught by Mubeen off Sharfuddin in the fourth over with the score at 34 runs.

Sharfudin then struck another blow to send back Nigel in his next over while Asim picked up Bharat Bhatia to have Wahabi’s reeling at 45 for 3 wickets in six overs.

Laxmikant Joshi and Suhel Patel then took the fight to the Farooq bowlers, playing aggressive cricket to put on 144 runs for the fourth wicket that rescued Al Wahabi. Joshi batted superbly for his 67 runs in 56 balls, including six boundaries while Patel slammed a brisk 64 runs in 38 balls in which he smote 5 fours and 2 sixes to see Bhatias to a fighting total of 198 runs when the overs ran out.

Arshad bagged 3 wickets while Sharfuddin and Kamran picked up 2 wickets each for Farooq Restaurant.

Adnan Butt and Mubeen gave Farooq Restaurant a flying start, taking a heavy toll of the opening bowlers by putting on 49 runs in less than five overs. The introduction of spin from Ashwin Mistry did the trick as he snaffled both the openers while Laxmikant sent back Adeel and Ayub in quick succession to have them four down at 76 runs.

Adnan Butt was the top scorer for them with a rapid 42 runs in 25 balls including 5 fours and a six. Arshad (17) and Sanjeev (27) tried their best with a brief 29 runs partnership but Ashwin struck once again to bag 3 more wickets while Jairaj Thakur made further inroads with 2 wickets.

Ashwin Mistry was the toast of the Bhatia team as he dazzled with a mesmerizing spell bagging 5 wickets for just 13 runs to be the match winner.

Earlier in the semi-finals Jairaj Thakur and Nigel slammed centuries against Majid Al Futtaim to tote up 302 runs for two wickets and bowled their fancied opponents for a paltry 129 runs for a huge win by 173 runs. Jairaj who is riding a purple patch struck 111 runs in 52 balls with 21 fours and 2 sixes while Nigel struck a whirlwind 100 in 51 balls with 10 fours and 2 sixes. Ashwin Mistry was again the match winner with a rich haul of six wickets for 43 runs.

Summarized scores:
Al Wahabi Bhatias beat Farooq Restaurant Unity CC by 47 runs.
Al Wahabi 198 for 9 in 25 overs ( Laxmikant Joshi 67, Suhel Patel 64, Kumar Gandhi 15, Arshad 3 for 28, Sharfuddin 2 for 29, Kamran 2 for 27)
Farooq Restaurant 151 all out in 21.3 overs ( Adnan Butt 42, Arshad 17, Sanjeev 27, Asim 13, Ashwin Mistry 5 for 13, Laxmikant Joshi 2 for 27, Jairaj Thakur 2 for 37)
Man of the match: Ashwin Mistry of Al Wahabi Bhatias.

Monday, May 17, 2004.
source : © UAEcricket.com.