Hassan and Bhatti produced superb all-round performances to steer Firox Club to an encouraging four-wicket triumph over former champions Galfar Al Misnad in the Premier Division of the Qatar Airways Cricket Tournament.
At the West Bay Grounds, Firox Club completed a thrilling 298-run chase with two overs to spare when Hassan smashed 51 off 56 balls and Bhatti chipped in with 46 in 33 balls after the two shared four scalps. Rajeewa also collected two wickets to restrict Galfar Al Misnad at 297 in 49.3 overs. Besides Hassan and Bhatti, Abrar hit 48 off 64 deliveries and Saqlain added a brisk 45 in 36 balls. Hassan hit five fours, Saqlain had seven fours, Abrar cracked two sixes and five fours, while Bhatti’s knock contained half a dozen shots to the rope. This was the first win for Firox after three losses in a row.
Dharmang Patel top-scored in the match as he got 62 off 60 balls, which included one six and seven fours. Sammy was a bit more aggressive, slamming two sixes and five fours in his 52-ball 60. Sandun Vithanage made 46 in 60 balls. The loss was second for Galfar in five matches.
Awais Malik smashed one six and a dozen fours in his undefeated century to lift Asian Club to their third successive victory as they crushed Bangla Seniors by seven wickets in another match. Chasing a modest 266-run target, Malik finished with 107 not out off 89 balls, which took his team to come home in 37.1 overs.
Besides Malik, Basit also blasted an unbeaten 87, which contained two sixes and eight boundaries. Malik was declared the man of the match. Earlier, Mohamed Tanveer limited Bangla Seniors at 265 for seven with his superb spell in which he grabbed four wickets for just 23 runs.
Omran also got one for 28 in his 10 overs with three maidens. Asif (52 with two sixes and five fours) and Roman (49 with seven fours) were the main scorers for their team which suffered fourth straight loss.
Rifayi led a scoring spree for Tusker Club during their huge 136-run rout of Royal Stars in the third and last match of the division.
His run-a-ball 83 carried his team to a massive 312 for eight. Rifayi struck three sixes and six fours.
Deepu followed Rifayi with 73 in 108 balls. His innings contained eight fours. Nawaf and Saleh later were involved into big hitting and helped Tusker Club move past 300-mark.
Nawaf took just 28 balls to get 42, while Saleh hit 37 not out off 26 balls.
In reply, Royal Stars collapsed at 176 in 33.2 overs and faced fourth defeat in a row. Prem was the main destroyer with four for 35.
Akash snapped three wickets for 17 and Bipin bagged two for 45. Rifayi was adjudged the man of the match.
Brief scoreS
Firox Club 298 for six in 48 overs (Hassan 51 off 56, Abrar 48 off 64, Bhatti 46 off 33, Saqlain 45 off 36; Gayan Buddika 2/49, Sandun Vithanage 2/53) bt Galfar Al Misnad 297 all out in 49.3 overs (Dharmang Patel 62 off 60, Sammy 60 off 52, Sandun Vithanage 46 off 60; Rajeewa 2/43, Bhatti 2/30, Hassan 2/58) by four wickets
Asian Club 268 for 3 in 37.1 overs (Awais Malik 107 not out, Basit 87 not out) bt Bangla Seniors 265 for 7 (Asif 52, Roman 49; Mohamed Tanveer 4/23)
by seven wickets
Tusker Club 312 for 8 (Rifayi 83 off 83, Deepu 73 off 108, Nawaf 42 off 28, Saleh 37 not out off 26; Asgal 2/33) bt Royal Stars 176 all out in 33.2 overs (Prem 4/35, Akash 3/17, Bipin 2/45) by 136 runs.