Century for Shoaib in big win for Riyaan

By Richard Boxall

A century by Riyaan captain Muhammad Shoaib Ahmad was the highlight of the weekend’s cricket, as five matches were played at Ypsonas and Happy Valley.

Riyaan amassed 219-6 in their T20 match against Limassol Qalandars, a particularly impressive score at the Happy Valley ground where run scoring is harder than at Ypsonas. A century partnership between Shoaib and Waqas Akhtar (49) formed the backbone of the innings, and Shoaib was only dismissed in the last over for 115, which included 9 sixes and 7 fours.

Qalandars were dismissed in reply for 126, with only Shah Khalid’s 55 offering resistance. Waqas took 3-31, and Atta Ulla wrapped up the tail emphatically with 4 wickets for 3 runs in just 9 balls.

Napa Kings also scored heavily, reaching 207-4 against Royal at Ypsonas. Mohamad Ikram made 87 and Ali Khan 44 not out. In reply Satish Bardwaj, Sehran Ahmed and Gundeep Singh all made over 30, but they were always behind the required rate and finished on 170-7, with Napa’s Taimoor Zeb taking 3-24.

The other T20 match was a low scoring affair with a dramatic finish. Cyprus Super Kings struggled to 113-8, but then reduced Nicosia Tigers to 40-5. At this point Iftekar Jaman, who had earlier bowled a tidy spell of 1-18 from his 4 overs, came in and began scoring rapidly, reaching 49 from 26 balls before being dismissed with 3 runs needed to win. The next ball was a wide, with the batters running two to secure victory by 4 wickets with more than 7 overs to spare.

The Super Kings had a better time the day before, beating Amdocs by 5 wickets in the 40-over league at Ypsonas. In fact Amdocs only used half their permitted overs, being bowled out in 20 for a meagre 119, after passing 50 for the loss of only one wicket. Vimal Khanduri made the only significant contribution (40), while Super Kings bowlers Charan Nalluri (5-28) and Thirupathi Reddy (4-11) excelled.

Super Kings struggled initially, slumping to 34-4 and 61-5, with Puneet Abhichanda taking 3-42. But Sandeep (50) and Srinivas Angarekkala (20) steadied the ship and saw their team home without further loss.

The other 40-over game featured a match-winning all-round performance at Happy Valley by Moufflons’ long-serving all-rounder Gurdeep Sharma, resulting in a 2-wicket win over Limassol Zalmi. During his time at the club Sharma has batted and bowled in just about every position. On this occasion he opened the bowling and took 4-29 as Zalmi slipped to 39-7, before Faisal Khan’s 61, with help from Noman Zeb and Babar Ayub, enabled them to reach 160 all out, with Waqar Ali also in the wickets with 3-21.

Mehran Khan made 38 for Moufflons but the score was 87-4 when Sharma came in at number 6, and, despite Amir Sohail’s 3-35, guided his team through a nervous chase, the winning runs coming with only two wickets left, with Sharma still there on 34.

40-over league standings

1 Amdocs – played 5, points 88
2 Moufflons – p 3, pts 74
3 Sri Lanka Lions – p 2, pts 55
4 Royal – p 2, pts 45
5 Cyprus Super Kings – p 3, pts 41
6 Limassol Zalmi – p 2, pts 39
7 Sri Lankans – p 1, pts 8