Mohammed Tauqir produced a fine all-round performance, but his efforts failed to prevent UAE Nationals from crashing to a narrow 11-run defeat against Oman Nationals on the second day of the second Gulf Cup Twenty20 tournament, organised by the Sharjah Cricket Council, at the Sharjah stadium.
UAE Nationals will meet the Omani team again in the final at Sharjah Stadium on Sunday commencing at 7.30 pm.
In another match, Saudi Arabia Cricket League rode on an entertaining half-century by Nadeem Al Nadwi to beat Kuwait Nationals Cricket Club by 18 runs.
Chasing a competitive target of 173 in the allotted 20 overs, the UAE team had their chances, but they stumbled at the finishing line. Ace UAE all-rounder Tauqir kept his team’s hopes, smashing 83 off just 49 balls which included 11 fours and one six, but his exit changed the complexion of the game.
Though Salman farooq (20 not out off 18 balls) and skipper Alawi Al Braik (17 off 15 balls) made some useful contributions to the total, they failed to guide the team to victory.
Earlier, the Oman team had built their innings around Khalid Moosa (45 off 26), Nadil Yousuf (42 off 38), Ahmed Mehmood (28 not out off 23) and Sgarif Faindok (24 not out off 18).
Off-spinner Tauqir was the most successful UAE bowler, claiming three for 30.
In the other match, the Saudi Arabia Cricket League team comfortably kept up their dominance over Kuwait Nationals. Batting first, they seized the initiative, scoring 212 for five. Nadeem Al Nadwi led their batting charge with a fluent 67 off 37 balls with eight fours and two sixes.
Abbas Al Nadwi (39 off 18), Faisal Shaikh (36 off 29) and Abdullah Nadwi (18 off 15) added to the woes of a struggling Kuwait team’s attack.
The Kuwaiti team, in reply, were restricted to 131 for five despite a solid knock of 51 by Mehmood Bastaki. Tahir Bastaki (34 off 28) was the other main scorer, but the Saudi team remained in complete control of the proceedings.
Meanwhile, on the opening day, the Omani team had defeated Kuwait Nationals by 156 runs while the UAE accounted for Saudi Arabia Cricket League by 43 runs, thanks to a brilliant century by Fahad Al Hashmi who made 109.
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