Afridi powers Dubai Lions into semifinals of Sharjah Sixes

Flamboyant Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi blasted a crucial 33 as Dubai Lions eased into the semifinals of the inaugural Grand Midwest Sharjah Sixes, organised by the Sharjah Cricket Council at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday night.

In the quarter-finals, Dubai Lions scored a close three-wicket victory over Bucomac Rocks.

Chasing an imposing 78 to win, the crowd which had turned in decent numbers were not disappointed as Afridi began with a bang opening his account with a six. He smashed another three maximums and a boundary to quickly reach 33.

With the foundation laid, M Saeed (14 not out) and W Tariq (11 not out) provided the finishing touch as Dubai Lions raced to victory with three balls to spare.

Earlier, batting first, Bucomac Rocks scored 77 for one in five overs after opener H Ifthikar (28) and N Malik (25) provided a fine start. N Malik chipped in with a superb 17 not out.

In another quarter-final, Nasir Aziz and Sultan Ahmed bowled deadly spells as Alubond Tigers trounced NMC Health Care by 53 runs.

NMC, chasing 90 to win, got off to a fine start with opener I Sampath smashing a quick 27. Aziz was introduced into the attack and he began his over claiming two wickets in his first two deliveries and another one in his fourth to finish with a three-wicket haul conceding eight runs in his lone over.

Sultan Ahmed claimed two wickets in the five deliveries he bowled as NMC were shot out for only 36.

Earlier batting first, A Shakoor smashed an unbeaten 33 while Nasir chipped in with a gritty 26 not out consisting of three sixes and one boundary as Alubond Tigers reached 89 for three in five overs.

Seven Seas also entered the semifinals scoring a four-wicket victory over Team Interface.

After F Tariq (28) took Team Interface to a healthy 64 in five overs, Seven Seas wasted little time to chase down the target achieving it in just 2.5 overs.

While W Asad provided the start scoring 24, W Ahmed finished it in style smashing four successive sixes off Imran Khan to score an unbeaten 29.

In the other match, Yo Power edged past One Stop Tourism by four runs to enter the last four. Shazad Manna top scoring with 32 while S Patil chipping in with 30.

Brief scores:

Dubai Lions bt Bucomac Rocks by 3 wickets: Bucomac Rocks 77 for 1 in 5 overs (H Ifthikar 28 not out, N Malik 25, S Saeed 17 not out) Dubai Lions 79 for 2 in 4.3 overs (Shahid Afridi 33 rtd, M Saeed 14 not out, W Tariq 11 not out; A Qureshi 2 for 18).

Alubond Tigers bt NMC Health Care by 53 runs: Alubond Tigers 89 for 4 in 5 overs (A Shakoor 33 rtd, Fahad Massad 10 not out, Nasir Aziz 26 not out; Husien Irshad 2 for 17) NMC 36 all out in 3.5 overs (I Sampath 27; Nasir Aziz 3 for 8, Sultan Ahmed 2 for 3).

Seven Seas Strikers bt Team Interface by 4 wickets: Team Interface 64 for 3 in 5 overs (F Ghafoor 28 not out) Seven Seas 66 for 1 in 2.5 overs (W Asad 24, W Ahmed 29 not out).

Yo Power bt One Stop Tourism by 4 runs: Yo Power 94 for 1 in 5 overs (Shazad Manna 32 rtd, S Patil 30 not out, A Amonkar 17) One Stop Tourism 90 for 1 in 5 overs (M Qasim 31 rtd, A Inayat rtd 32, S Lagahari 18).

NDTE bt Cost Cutters by 5 wickets: Cost Cutter 71 for 3 in 5 overs (Intzar Ul Haq 19, Fahad Usman 29, Fahad Usman 12 not out) NTDE 72 for no loss in 4.3 overs (Johor Hussain 31 rtd, Rajesh 19 not out, Sager Ahmed 12 not out).

Bucomac Rocks bt Nucaf Tellicherry by 24 runs: Bucomac Rocks 96 for 3 in 5 overs (H Ifthikar 31 rtd, N Malik 15, R Atta 26 not out; Adnan 2 for 14) Nucaf Tellicherry 72 for 4 in 5 overs (A Mahmood 35 not out, Shibith A P 13).

Dubai Lions bt GHI CC by 3 wickets: GHI CC 46 for 2 in 5 overs (M Tariq 28 not out) Dubai Lions 47 for 2 in 5 overs (A Shehzad 14, H Azam 23 not out).
 

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