ECB Blues emerged champions of the inaugural Dubai Sports City Ramadan T20 cricket tournament when they defeated Phoenix Medicines by 16 runs in a keenly contested final at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday night.
A compact half century by UAE skipper Khurram Khan (53) helped ECB Blues post a tournament highest total of 171 for seven after being invited to bat first in pleasant conditions. Phoenix Medicines had successfully chased a total of 160 previously but fell short this time despite a solid unbeaten knock of 71 by Haroon Ahmed.
ECB Blues were richer by Dh10,000 while Phoenix Medicines had to be content with the Dh7,000 runner-up prize in this eight-team competition organised by the Dubai Sports City under the auspices of the Dubai Cricket Council.
After openers Arshad Ali (18) and Faizan Ahmed (28) gave them a fine start with a 44-run alliance in even time, Khurram paced his innings beautifully. The experienced left-hander faced 41 balls for his 53 which contained just one four and two sixes being dismissed in the penultimate ball of their innings.
“Since I knew it’s a huge ground and if we don’t take singles and doubles it’s going to make a huge difference in the end. When the ground is bigger you have to take those doubles. I think they just relied on the boundaries mostly. I think that was the difference. We fielded superbly and they gave away quite a lot of runs,” said Khurram speaking to Emirates 24|7.
“Khurram batted really sensibly. We put up a good score. They played really well. Actually Haroon’s innings was very crucial. It was a very competitive final. And of course the best team won,” said ECB Blues captain Mohammed Tauqeer.
Amjad Ali weighed in with a useful innings of 25 off 21 balls with two fours while Mohammed Nouman (14) and Ghulam Rasool (15) maintained the momentum in tandem with Khurram who calmly rotated the strike.
Phoenix Medicines pressed into service as many as seven bowlers, but it was Khurram’s brother Zeeshan Khan who emerged as the most successful bowler, claiming three for 28.
Phoenix Medicines, in reply, stuttered early in their innings, losing both openers with just seven runs on the board. Haroon Ahmed, however, steadied the ship with an authoritative unbeaten 71 off 50 balls which was spiced with five fours and four sixes. He was involved in some useful partnerships with Shakeel Raja (29 off 25) and Zeeshan Khan (24 off 15), but they were always playing catch up and restricted to 155 for eight.
Shoaib Sarwar, Ahmed Raza and Ghulam Rasool bowled well for ECB Blues to see off a determined fight-back from their opponents.
“I really enjoyed playing here. It’s a lovely facility to play on. If somebody had stayed to put on a partnership, the match could have gone in our favour,” said Ahmed, a first class player from Peshawar in Pakistan.
“Ahmed is a splendid player. We are very happy to have him in the side. I hope he will carry on this form because we are in the quarter-finals of all major tournaments in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Al Dhaid,” said Adil Mirza, captain of Phoenix Medicines who are making their debut this season.
“For many years we were playing under Rufi Real Estate. Owner of that company Rameez Rufi is a childhood friend of mine. This year we decided to play half of tournament under Rufi (Sharjah and Dhaid) and half under Phoenix (DSC and Abu Dhabi,” said Mirza, owner of Phoenix Medicines LLC.
“We gave too many runs away. The fielding was not up to the mark. We did not hit the right areas. We came short a little bit here but I think we will do well in the rest of the tournaments,” said the portly skipper confidently.
Irfan Hyder of ECB Blues was named the Player of the Tournament receiving a cash award of Dh1,000 while Phoenix Medicines had some consolation when Shakeel Raja and Haroon Ahmed were adjudged the Best Bowler and the Best Batsman of the tournament which carried prize money of Dh750 each.
“We hope to have a bigger tournament next time since there is a lot of interest and teams love to play here. This was a trial run with eight teams,” said Mazhar Khan, a veteran cricket administrator.
“I think it’s a wonderful venue. It has already done international matches. It’s lovely to play here in a great atmosphere,” said Khurram.
“We really enjoyed playing here. Winning inaugural tournament in this venue means a lot to us. It’s not a national side but the boys are preparing to be part of national side,” added Tauqeer.
However, Tauqeer and Khurram were of the opinion there should be more 50-over tournaments. “There is already lot of T20 cricket in UAE. I prefer the longer version because it builds temperament of the cricketer,” said UAE player Tauqeer.
Brief scores:
ECB Blues beat Phoenix Medicines by 16 runs: ECB Blues 171 for 7 (Khurram Khan 53, Faizan Ahmed 28, Arshad Ali 18, Amjad Ali 25, Ghulam Rasool 15, Mohammed Nouman 14; Zeeshan Khan 3-28) Phoenix Medicines 155 for eight (Haroon Ahmed 71 not out, Shakeel Raja 29, Zeeshan Khan 24; Shoaib Sarwar 2-10, Ahmed Raza 2-28, Ghulam Rasool 2-31). Man of the match: Haroon Ahmed of Phoenix Medicines. Umpires: Razzaq Shah and Richie Ebrahim.